Sabarimala temple opens as protesters clash with police
Nilackal, Oct 17: Protesters opposing the Supreme Court order on women's entry into Sabarimala temple turned violent here on Wednesday and clashed with police, which resorted to baton-charge.
An elderly woman and a few other peoples were injured as police tried to disperse the crowd shortly before the temple of Lord Ayyappa was to open for monthly pooja.
A tense face-off was witnessed at Nilackal, the base camp, since morning with the protesters laying siege to the road leading to the famous hill temple, about 20 km from here, and blocking young women, including journalists.
Trouble broke out as the agitators, who are opposing the decision of Kerala government to implement the apex court lifting a ban on entry of women of menstrual age into the temple, continued to block vehicles of pilgrims and pelted stones, disregarding repeated requests by police to desist from such acts.
As police began a crackdown, the protesters fought pitched battle with them. Later the police used lathi-charge to disperse the protesters, several of whom ran helter-skelter and entered the nearby forest area.
The injured woman was bleeding from her head and was later taken away from the clash scene.
Several vehicles were also damaged in the stone pelting as tension continued to prevail in the area.
The Lord Ayyappa temple will open at 5 pm for the five-day-monthly pooja of the Malayalam month of Thulam, the first time since the apex court allowed entry of women of all age.
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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.
