Madhya Pradesh Power Crisis: Congress Protests Frequent Power Cuts, Inflated Electricity Bills Across Districts; Farmers Hit Hard

Mandsaur (Madhya Pradesh): Congress workers and residents gheraoed the Madhya Pradesh Electricity Board’s district office on Monday to protest frequent power cuts, allegedly excessive electricity bills and the ongoing survey for smart meters.

The protest was organised at the call of district panchayat member and Congress leader Deepak Singh Gurjar, with Mandsaur MLA Vipin Jain participating.

Addressing the gathering, Gurjar said rural areas had been facing daytime and nighttime power cuts over the past week, causing inconvenience to residents.

He demanded a halt to the proposed electricity tariff hike, withdrawal of police cases registered against protesters opposing smart meters and cancellation of allegedly false cases of overloading and power theft against consumers.

The memorandum addressed to the Governor also sought relief for consumers facing bank account freezes and property attachment over pending electricity bills.

Jain criticised the department’s approach to power distribution, stating that farmers required an adequate electricity supply. He warned officials against ignoring demands raised by elected representatives.

During the protest, complaints about allegedly inflated bills, demands for Rs 5,000 for installing new TP connections and payments collected without receipts were also raised. The protesters demanded prompt action on consumer grievances.

SITAMAU: Congress workers staged a sit-in protest and took out a march at Laduna crossroads against frequent power cuts in rural areas.

They alleged that prolonged outages due to load shedding were troubling farmers and residents, disrupting daily life and raising fears of poisonous creatures at night. The protesters also submitted a memorandum demanding action.

HABUA: The District Youth Congress, led by president Natwar Dodiyar, demanded action against unscheduled power cuts and excessive electricity bills.

It sought a regular power supply in rural areas, adequate electricity for farmers, repairs to damaged transformers and lines, and special grievance camps to investigate incorrect bills and ensure timely resolution of consumer complaints.

PANSEMAL: Block Congress Committee members and farmers submitted a memorandum to naib tehsildar Rajaram Ranade over unannounced rural power cuts. They said outages were affecting crops, students and the drinking water supply.

A rally was taken out from the Electricity Board office. Junior engineer Rajendra Patel assured them that the problem would be resolved soon. Protesters warned of agitation if the outages continued.

BADNAWAR: The Congress, led by MLA Bhawar Singh Shekhawat, took out a protest rally from the MLA office to the Electricity Board Grid and submitted a memorandum to executive engineer Vineet Thakur and tehsildar Suresh Nagar.

Farmers were facing severe problems due to irregular power cuts, low-capacity transformers and high temporary connection charges. Nirdesh Sonagara read the memorandum.

KHANDWA: Residents of Singot and 40-50 nearby villages are facing frequent unannounced power cuts affecting studies, drinking water, household work and farming.

Block Congress Committee (Singot) president Kedar Patidar submitted a memorandum to the electricity distribution centre’s junior engineer seeking a regular power supply.

District Congress spokesperson Premanshu Jain said villagers were facing hardship. The Congress warned of agitation and road blockades if the problem continued.