With only one employee deployed to handle the cash counter at Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) office at Fountain Chowk, a huge rush was witnessed here with residents thronging the office to deposit electricity bills on Friday.
A visit to the office, which has limited space, at 10.30am revealed that over 30 people were standing in a queue and close to each other, brushing aside all social distancing norms. This, despite the growing number of Covid-19 cases in the district.
Till July 31, a bill payment machine was installed at the office for those who wanted to avoid standing in queues at the cash counters. However, residents on Friday seemed to be unaware of the development. They said the authorities must increase the cash counters at the Fountain Chowk office due to more footfall.
Surinder Kaur, 68, said, “Earlier, I used to deposit the cash in the bill payment machine and never had to visit the cash counter. But today, it took me one hour to deposit the bill at the counter. The authorities must increase the number of counters and deploy more staff so that long queues can be avoided.”
‘Don’t know how to pay online’
{{/usCountry}}‘Don’t know how to pay online’
{{/usCountry}}Another resident, Alok Khanna, said, “I prefer depositing the bill at the cash counter as I don’t know how to pay it online. The last date is September 20, I thought it is better to do it today. But after reaching the PSPCL office, I waited for 45 minutes and had to stand in a long queue.”
Ramesh Kaushal, executive engineer (XEN, distribution), said, “We have limited space in the office at Fountain Chowk and a single employee is deployed. Instead of coming to the office, residents must switch to the online mode and pay bills from the safety of their homes.”