Kolhapur, Feb 23: The workers of Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana, led by SSS national president Raju Shetty, on Wednesday set on fire a effigy of state Energy Minister Nitin Raut in front of Mahavitran office in Tarabai Park area here, as part of their ongoing indefinite dharna against shortage of power supply in the area. The SSS workers, along with farmers from three districts of Kolhapur, Sangli and Satara, demanded supply of electricity for 10 hours during the day. Shetty, while addressing the gathering, reacted sharply towards using maximum electricity for state minister’s offices in Mantralya, alleging that the electricity bills for the same were paid by government treasury, which means it was people’s money. Shetty alleged that there was big scam in electricity production of Mahavitaran, bigger than scam in sugar factories in the state as there were connections of state ministers in private electricity production companies, from which the government purchased electricity. In this Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government regime, there was more cost of wild animals than human as if an elephant dead due to electricity shock then the government exacted Rs 25 crore from farmers and if farmer dead then the government reimbursed only Rs Two lakh. MVA government destabilized the farmers, he said. Along with Shetty, Jalandhar Patil, Rajendra Gaddyanvar, Janardan Patil, Jaykumar Like, Sagar Kondekar, Sachin Shinde, Vikram Patil and SSS workers and farmers, participated in the agitation.
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