Inflated electricity bills anger consumers

From a Correspondent

HOJAI, Feb 3:  Residents of Hojai town and its surrounding villages are receiving arbitrary and inflated electricity bills from APDCL since the past few months, causing resentment among them.

There are also allegations that meter readings are not done properly resulting in exorbitant electricity bills and people are being forced to pay the incorrect and inflated bills for fear of disconnection. Some bills received have no match with meter reading and are 5-10 times higher than it used be earlier.

Though some consumers have applied for new meter but they have not received new meter though two to three months have elapsed since they had applied for new meter. In the meantime, they are being forced to pay erratic and arbitrary bills.

Ram Tahal, a resident of Hojai town received a bill of Rs 3,000. He said that it was beyond his fincial means to pay such a large amount and criticized the government for bleeding the poor dry. Many such angry residents are planning protests against such arbitrary acts of APDCL.