Villagers lock power company's office during protest in Maha

Villagers briefly locked an officeof state-run power utility MSEDCL in Thane district ofMaharashtra on Wednesday alleging mismanagement in itsfunctioning and poor services to consumers, an official said.

The Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution CompanyLtd (MSEDCL) office at Ambadi in Bhiwandi taluka was locked bylocal villagers during a protest against the power utility,Deputy Executive Engineer Dyaneshwar Vattamwar said.

Vattamwar said no police complaint was registered astheir was no violence or damage to the office during theprotest.

The police intervened in the matter and the MSEDCLoffice was unlocked two hours later, he said.

The protest was held under the banner of an NGO.

Talking to the media, a member of the NGO said therewere several ''lapses'' in MSEDCL functioning like exorbitantbilling, snapping of supply for non-payment of bills, nottaking actual readings and disruption in electricity supply.

He said the local MSEDCL office was also under-staffedwhich affected its functioning and redressal of consumergrievances.

Some activists of the NGO were summoned to the policestation and questioned about the incident, police said.