Power tariff: Post strike, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah calls meeting with industries

BENGALURU: The statewide ‘bandh’ call given by the Karnataka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) against the power tariff hike evoked mixed response from across the state on Thursday.
Following the bandh, small-scale industries and public enterprises minister Sharanabasappa Darshanapur said chief minister Siddaramaiah will hold a meeting on this issue with small and medium-scale industrialists on Friday, in which representatives from Karnataka Small Scale Industries Association (KASSIA) and Federation of Karnataka Chamber of Commerce and Industries (FKCCI) will also participate.
“I am confident that the industrialists will be happy after the meeting. A decision will be taken after hearing them out. Whatever needs to be done to save the industry will be done. Industries create jobs and the government has a responsibility in this regard. We will find a solution at the meeting,” he added.
'While the bandh evoked a good response in North Karnataka, particularly in Hubballi and Belagavi cities, response in the south was partial. The entrepreneurs owning small and medium-scale industries shut their establishments to register their support for the KCCI protest call.
Industrial bodies in several district headquarters, including Bengaluru, Mysuru, Shivamogga, Chikkamagaluru and Mandya, staged protests against the hike in electricity charges. Protest marches were also taken out in Shivamogga and Ballari, where memoranda were submitted to the district commissioners. The protesters said power tariff has been hiked from 25% to 75%, that too after the announcement of a free power scheme in the state. This steep hike is expected to take a heavy toll on the industries, mainly small-scale industries., they said
Industries minister MB Patil said he would discuss the matter with Siddaramaiah and energy minister KJ George. “I appeal to everyone to please cooperate. KERC keeps revising prices from time to time. It follows a procedure. It is not done by the government. They revised the tariff now and will do it in the future as well,” the minister said.
Srinivas Rao, the president of Ballari District Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the power tariff hike impacts the business class, the common man and industries alike.
Carrying banners, posters and placards, the traders and industrialists held marches in the district headquarters of Hubballi-Dharwad, Shivamogga, Belagavi, Ballari, Vijayanagar, Davanagere, and Koppal, among others. They raised slogans, demanding the government roll back the hike. In Belagavi, many traders and small and micro-industry owners marched up to the office of the deputy commissioner with their banners and placards. KCCI acting president Sandeep Bidasaria claimed that the hike in power tariff has gone up between 50% and 70%, which has deeply impacted small businesses and many were planning to move out to neighbouring states due to the drastic increase in power tariff.
Many shops were shut, and production was stopped in small industries in several parts of the state in response to the bandh call. In Dharwad, Ravi Akalawadi addressed the protesters and said the power hike by Escoms was unscientific and will have an adverse impact on the economy, especially on small and medium business establishments. He claimed the hike in electricity charges will lead to an increase in general prices, and the businessmen will be forced to cut costs.
“They will reduce the staff strength in their establishments, which will result in unemployment. The hike in power tariff will have a spiralling effect and hence needs to be rolled back,” he added.