Protest by All Assam Electricity Consumers Association against mandatory smart meter installation and prepaid recharge system

The All Assam Electricity Consumers Association's Cachar District Coordination Committee staged a protest today, vehemently opposing the compulsory installation of prepaid smart meters in consumers' homes by the APDCL (Assam Power Distribution Company Limited) Kalaigaon Subdivision Office. They also expressed their dissatisfaction with the newly implemented prepaid recharge system for electricity usage.

The Association strongly asserted that consumers will not accept the enforced installation of prepaid smart meters, which would result in higher billing compared to previous charges.

They criticized the initiation of an upfront payment system, drawing parallels to countries where millions rely on government subsidies for livelihood.

During the protest, members from Youth Against Social Evils (YASE) Katigora and Badarpur Legislative Assembly Committee were present, including spokespersons Sanjeev Ray, Hussain Ahmed Choudhury, Samarendra Deb, Samsul Islam, Hillol Bhattacharya, and several other speakers.

Eminent individuals such as Sabbir Ahmed, Tilak Chandra Das (District Council Member), Ruknuddin Talukdar, Manojit Das, Jamin Ahmed, Sandeep Shil, Jubair Ahmed, Sandeep Das, Amitabh Chakraborty, and Bimlendu Sinha were also present during the protest.

The demonstration signifies the collective dissatisfaction of consumers and local representatives against the mandatory introduction of prepaid smart meters and the prepayment system, urging a reconsideration of these policies by the APDCL.