Congress suspends leader booked for abetment of woman’s suicide in Kerala
Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): The Congress on Sunday suspended Thiruvananthapuram District Congress Committee (DCC) General Secretary Jose Franklin following allegations related to the suicide of a 50-year-old woman.
Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president Sunny Joseph, in a short statement, announced the suspension of Franklin, who is Neyyattinkara municipal councillor as well, from the party "in the wake of the allegations raised against him."
Police arraigned Franklin as an accused for allegedly abetting the woman’s suicide near Perumbazhuthoor near Neyyattinkara early this month.
Neyyattinkara police said he recently secured anticipatory bail from the District Principal Sessions Court. On Sunday, television channels aired a suicide note purportedly written by the woman accusing Franklin of mental and sexual harassment.
Following this development, the KPCC decided to suspend the leader from the party. Meanwhile, the CPI(M) and BJP held protests in Neyyattinkara demanding Franklin’s resignation from his councillor post.
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Power tariffs under BESCOM to rise from May 1
Bengaluru (PTI): Power bills for consumers under the Bangalore Electricity Supply Company Limited (BESCOM) will go up from May 1, following an order issued by the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC) on Friday.
The hike comes after KERC allowed the BESCOM to recover a revenue deficit of Rs 2,068 crore incurred in 2024-25, from the consumers.
As a result, for every unit of electricity consumed in 2024-25, the customers will be charged an additional 56 paise, it said.
"BESCOM shall calculate, for each of the active consumers of FY2024-25 the amount to be recovered based on their actual energy consumption during FY2024-25. Such amount shall be recovered during FY 2026-27 in equal monthly instalments, to be called as 'FY25 True up Charges', commencing from the first meter reading date falling on or after 1 May 2026 and concluding with the reading date ending on 30 April 2027," the order said.
"It is further ordered that BESCOM shall maintain a separate head of account, allocated for the purpose, to record the adjustment of the said amount to ensure full recovery of the deficit," it added.
Similarly Chamundeshwari Electricity Supply Corporation Limited (CESC) has also recorded a revenue deficit of Rs 121.71 crore and can collect an additional 15 paisa per unit for consumption in 2024-25, official sources said.
