Householders and traders across the country are poised to set fire to their electricity bills to register protest against the skyrocketing prices. A wave of outrage has gripped all corner as people have started coming out in the open against the economic crunch, which is bound to get worse with the latest round of bloodbath in the currency market. As a direct consequence of last month’s approval of the power regulator’s request to hike the average tariff by up to Rs 7.5 per unit, consumers find themselves struggling for even an inch of breathing space. This sudden onslaught has come at a time when unprecedented inflation had turned everyday routine into a hard-fought battle of survival. People are fast running out of options of how to put food on their table or to keep the roof over their heads. With the new school year starting, parents are in a double whammy: how to provide for the children’s education and what sacrifices need to be made. More worrisome is the fact that the country is not even close to the end of this tunnel. There are reports about yet another petition to add fuel costs and tariff adjustment rates of the months gone by to the end customers bills. Those walking on the street appear completely outraged about how severe and immediately material the effects of their governments’ lack of performance has been on their living standards and how they alone are unfairly asked to bleed at the altar. Amid newspaper reports of people selling jewelry to pay bills, close shops and businesses to save production costs and trying every trick in the playbook to simply live through the day, the camel’s back has already been broken and any more straws would only haunt the ruling elite. The authorities cannot afford to look the other way or talk about ridiculous Victorian-era remedies any longer. Electricity theft and subsidised provision to bureaucrats would have to be dealt with. Pronto. *