Restaurant fire kills 17 people in northeastern China
Beijing, Sep 28: A restaurant fire killed 17 people on Wednesday in the city of Changchun in northeastern China, authorities said.
The fire was reported about 12:40 pm in a high-tech section of the Changchun New Area industrial zone, according to a social media post by the zone's management committee.
Three other people were injured and taken to a hospital for treatment, the post said. A gas explosion was initially blamed for causing the fire, according to the fire and rescue service.
Changchun is an auto manufacturing centre and the capital of Jilin province.
China, which has some of the world's most draconian anti-coronavirus restrictions, continues to suffer from deadly accidents blamed on poor design and construction, failure to observe safety requirements and insufficient inspections and enforcement.
In April, an illegally constructed block that included apartments and restaurants collapsed in the city of Changsha, killing 53 people.
And in July, a gas explosion following a partial building collapse in the northern Chinese port city of Tianjin left three people missing and 11 injured.
The event remains under investigation, but it appears to point to the deterioration of infrastructure following more than three decades of breakneck economic growth that has vastly boosted living standards while often skirting safety and environmental regulation.
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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.
