HYDERABAD: Organisers of Ganesh pandals will have to pay power tariff for the ensuing festival from August 27 to September 6 at last year's rates.

The State Government has rescinded Transco's orders hiking the rate by 10 per cent this year. This concession was given at a meeting convened by Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy with the heads of 13 departments and the Bhagyanagar Ganesh Utsav Samithi on Thursday to discuss the arrangements for the festival.

The tariff would be collected at last year's rates -- Rs. 750, Rs. 1,300 and Rs. 1,800 -- for the respective categories of consumers. A lump sum of Rs. 100 a loudspeaker would be recovered for the 11-day festivities, against the earlier proposal of charging on a daily basis.

Directive to officials

A press note said Dr. Reddy also asked officials to release additional quota of sugar and kerosene to ration cardholders for the festival period. However, senior BJP leader B. Dattatreya, who attended the meeting, said the increase in the quota of sugar was only 1 kg.

Information and Public Relations Minister Mohd. Ali Shabbir, who was also present, said it was decided to release fine quality rice to cardholders.

He said the Samithi representatives had complained about the poor quality of rice from Haryana that was available through the public distribution system.

The meeting saw the request of the Samithi that formal permission from the police for installation of idols should not be insisted being shot down.

Additional Commissioner of Police A.K. Khan said permission was made compulsory to keep the police on notice about the location of the pandals.

Overloading of lines

It would help them avert law and order problems and fire accidents due to overloading of lines.

Mr. Khan added that the surveillance of the immersion procession would be stepped up with closed circuit TVs and high power cameras and binoculars.

The samithi general secretary, Bhagwant Rao, expected the number of idols to go up from 15,000 last year to 20,000.

Principal Secretary, Home, M.A. Basith, informed the meeting that the cranes would be increased from 50 to 75.

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