Kolabira (Jharsuguda): People in a remote village, Sanyasipali under Kolabira block of Jharsuguda district are facing a travesty which is so ridiculous that they don’t know whether to laugh or cry.
In what seems to be a cruel joke on the poor villagers, the electric department is sending electricity bills to the tribals here though they have been deprived of power connectivity since the last decades of independence. Interestingly, the villagers are still dependent on lanterns to light up their house during night.
Residents – Dhruba Majhi, Jagdish Chatria, Nabin Majhi, Gangadhar Chatria, Dileswari Majhi, Ramesh Majhi, Chandan Majhi and many others complained that they have got electricity bills of about Rs 3,200 each. The electricity bills have sent the villagers into a tizzy since they have never even seen an electric bulb in their village.
“Our village doesn’t even have a single electricity pole, leave alone electricity,” a villager said.
Similar was the fate of residents of neighbour village Samasingha. The villagers here complained that the electricity department had stopped the power connection mid-way without reaching the village.
Earlier, the electricity department workers had extracted Rs 200 each on pretext of providing meter box, Rs 100 for wires and Rs 400 for electric supply. However, the bulbs seem to be missing from the ‘electric kit’ provided under Soubhagya Scheme. Similarly, the wires are too small that the villagers have to buy it themselves.
Moreover, there is the workers have not done the earthing system in the houses of the villagers. Locals feared this might cause untoward problems during lightning and thunder.
When contacted, the electric department junior engineer Umakant Satapathy said that he was unaware of the extraction of money by his workers. Action would be taken after a probe, he added.
On the other hand, the executive engineer Dutiya Charan Gardia said the consumers would not be worried as the amount would be deducted after the installment of meter boxes.
PNN