LESA, private co go hand-in-glove

A NEXUS between LESA officials and staff of private hand-held billing agencies is emerging as a big source of corruption and harassment of consumers in LESA.

A NEXUS between LESA officials and staff of private hand-held billing agencies is emerging as a big source of corruption and harassment of consumers in LESA.

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The private agency employees, in innumerable cases, feed incorrect meter readings (usually, units more than consumed) in the hand-held computers they carry while reading a consumer’s meter and generate the bill accordingly. Later, when the consumers run from pillar to the post to get their bill rectified, they are harassed and extorted by LESA engineers.

According to sources, while the racket is flourishing in all LESA divisions, it is particularly rampant in the Gomti Nagar division where residents are relatively more aware and educated.

Harassed consumers have made written complaints to the LESA officers, but no action has been taken by any private agencies.

For example, a representative of the private hand-held billing agency handed over a bill of 4,992 units to one Badri Prasad Bajpayee of Gomti Nagar, though actually his meter recorded only 4,938.

He could get his bill corrected only after he had met the LESA babus several times. A woman consumer, Madhuri, also had a similar experience. She was given a bill of 1,700 units against the actual consumption of 1,445 units as recorded by the meter.