Ramu Kodya Hemada has spent the last 15 months asking officials of the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Ltd (MSEDCL) in Boisar division of Palghar district to restore his electricity connection but all he got was a bill.
Hemada, a tribal, farms on a small patch of land and lives in a hut with his wife in Hakaripada in Shigaon. The MSEDCL disconnected his power supply last year after he failed to pay a bill of Rs 600.
“Even after I paid the arrears with interest on May 14, 2015, the MSEDCL have not restored the power and we have been living in the dark since then,”Hemada said.
But to his dismay, the MSEDCL sent him a bill for Rs 5,130 in August.
“I received the bill for July and the bill shows that I “consumed” a staggering 826 units. How can I be billed when there is no power in my hut and the linesman also took away my power metre?” he asked.
Hemada said he walks to the power company’s office every week and pleads with the officials to restore his power connection but nobody has helped him as yet.
{{/usCountry}}Hemada said he walks to the power company’s office every week and pleads with the officials to restore his power connection but nobody has helped him as yet.
{{/usCountry}}Mahesh Godhalekar, a junior engineer with MSEDCL, said they would reconnect Hemada’s power supply soon but refused to comment on the bill issue.