Leftists ambush ADB, Kerala power board staff

Volunteers of the Democratic Youth Front of India (DYFI), the youth wing of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPM), sprang a surprise attack on the officials of the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB), the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and their consultants in the state capital, just before the officials entered a hotel in the capital city for discussions yesterday.

At the end of chaotic scenes which followed, that featured students and police pelting stones at each other, 18 DYFI men were arrested.

The DYFI youth took the police by total surprise, blocking the vehicles of the KSEB, ADB and the consultant's officials just as they reached the hotel. The youth then tied black flags on the vehicles and deflated the vehicles' tyres before police could swing into action.

The arrival of the police did not immediately calm the scene as some DYFI men squatted on the roads, and students from within the University College campus threw stones at the police, passersby and vehicles that traversed the busy Mahatma Gandhi road in front of the hotel.

Matters were later brought under control under the supervision of City Police Commissioner Rajan Singh and the meeting was held belatedly at the hotel.

Among the matters that were discussed were ways to pull the KSEB out of the financial crisis it is currently in. It is learnt that ADB officials have suggested an end to political interference in the functioning of the Board and increases in tariff as and when required.

KSEB chairman T. Manoharan and Murugayyan, who is in charge of the KSEB's finances, were among those blocked by DYFI leaders. Manoharan tried to calm the situation by stating that the discussions were very preliminary in nature.

"We are only discussing measures to improve the functioning of the KSEB. The final decision will only be taken with government consent," Manoharan said. But the agitators would not buy the argument, and pointed out that the government had already signed an agreement with the ADB.

The surprise attack to prevent the meeting has brought the ADB loan issue back into the limelight. The state government recently got Rs6 billion as part of the ADB package that is aimed at the Modernising Government Prog-ramme (MGP) in the face of stiff opposition from the Left parties.

The KSEB is estimated to be losing in excess of Rs1 billion each month, and drastic restructuring steps are inevitable for a turnaround. The ADB is expected to insist on various conditions to streamline the functioning of the KSEB as part of the loan deal.

This has infuriated Leftist organisations which feel that the state government is pledging its powers to multinationals and foreign banking and financial institutions.