Raichur: Social activists have taken severe objection to the alleged participation of Panchayat Development Officer (PDO) Praveen Kumar K in a guard of honour by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) recently, with some activists demanding the officer’s suspension.

Kumar, who is the personal assistant (PA) of the BJP MLA of Lingasugur Manappa Vajjal, was reportedly seen dressed like an RSS worker, wearing the uniform and holding a stick in hand, and participating in the guard of honour of the RSS recently.

Trade union leader HM Babu has written to Karnataka Chief Secretary as well as the Panchayat Raj Minister, taking objection to the PDO’s actions, saying the government officer was giving rise to social disharmony. Babu has also urged the government to suspend Kumar immediately for participating in the RSS activity and violating government norms.

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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.