Tamil Nadu tailor surrenders free power entitlement

A small tailor in Tamil Nadu's Coimbatore has shown the way to the richie-rich in Tamil Nadu by voluntarily declining the 100 units of free power offered by the state government.

"I was very happy when Chief Minister J.Jayalalithaa ordered free power for domestic use up to 100 units. Later I read it would cost around Rs.1,000 crore for the government," S. Muthukumarasamy, who owns a small tailoring shop in Coimbatore, told IANS over phone.

"My average power bill will be around Rs.600 and monthly income ranges between Rs.10,000-15,000. As I can afford to pay the power bill, I decided to surrender the free power so that really needy can benefit," he added.

Muthukumarasamy said he had discussed the idea with his friends and they told him that the idea is good and they would also do that if the government comes out with a proper scheme.

He said the submitted the letter declining free power to the District Collector Archana Patnaik on Monday.

The humble tailor says that he has not done anything great. He hoped rich people availing various government subsidies surrenders the same so that the really needy gets the benefit.

--IANS

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