COIMBATORE: Having sought support from political parties for their state-wide human chain protest planned on December 27, seeking rollback of the power tariff hike, the Tamil Nadu Power Consumers Industry Federation (TNPCIF) and the Federation of Coimbatore Industries Associations (FOCIA) have appealed to the parties not to display flags or placards at the venue so as not to politicise the issue.
In Coimbatore, the human chain protest would be staged near the Central Bus terminus at Gandhipuram from 2 - 4 pm.
Speaking to TNIE, co-ordinators J James and M Jayabal said, “The government revised the electricity tariff in 2022. Since then, industries have been facing a tough time. We have so far conducted seven protests to grab the attention of the chief minister but to no avail.” Their main demands include revoking peak hour charges, fixed demand charges and rooftop solar charges.
It may be recalled that a delegation from TNPCIF and FOCIA had met several political leaders including AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami and leaders of DMK’s alliance partners seeking support for the protest.
“Some of the leaders said they would take part in it. We are delighted and overwhelmed by the support. However, some of them revealed that they would participate along with their party flags and boards. We request them to refrain from doing so as this is not a political event. We want to draw the government’s focus to the demands only. So, we urge the political party leaders not to politicise our protest,” the two added.