HT Correspondent
MARGHERITA, Sept 16: In a demonstration lasting two hours, under the direction of the ATTSA Central Executive Committee, the Assam Tea Tribes Students’ Association (ATTSA) Margherita and Pengree branch committees staged a protest in front of the APDCL Margherita Sub-Divisional Engineer’s Office on Monday.
The protest, led by more than 100 members of ATTSA, was marked by slogans against chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, state Power minister Nandita Gorlosa, and APDCL higher authorities, expressing dissatisfaction with the implementation of smart meters.
Pranjal Baraik, joint publicity secretary of the ATTSA Central Executive Committee, criticised the smart meters, claiming they have adversely impacted the financial stability of tea garden workers. “It is very unfortunate that smart meters have ruined our hard-earned income, making it difficult to survive,” he stated.
Baraik further alleged that the state government is “smartly looting” tea garden workers and other general people through the smart meters. ATTSA has demanded the replacement of smart meters with post-paid meters within seven days, warning that failure to meet this demand will result in a larger agitation. The responsibility for any resulting incidents, he stated, will rest with the Margherita sub-divisional administration officer (civil) and the Margherita police.
A memorandum was submitted to the Margherita APDCL sub-divisional engineer by the present ATTSA members.
