The tribal people of Doravanipalem panchyat in Anakapalli district got the shock of their life on receiving electricity bills, ranging from ₹5,000 to ₹1.60 lakh, recently.
There are 48 families, belonging to the Konda Dora tribe, living in Doravanipalem area. A few days ago, some of them got bills for high amounts, including two consumers got bills for ₹29,113 and another for ₹1.60 lakh. The tribal people say that Meter Readers were handing them over their bills and threatening them with disconnection with the bills were not paid on time.
Dola Lakhsmi’s family has an electricity supply connection on the name of her son Dola Sattibabu. They were served a bill for ₹1.60 lakh. “We leave home early in the morning as we go out for agricultural activities. We use one bulb and TV and are not in a position to understand how to deal with the situation,” Ms. Lakshmi says
Gadi Kondamma of the same village was served a bill for ₹29,913. The power connection was on the name of her late husband Gadi Nagaraju. The tribals demand that the government should look into the issue and do justice to them.
“The tribal people should be given free power up to 200 units. The government should bear the bill,” demanded CPI(M) district secretariat member K. Govinda Rao.
“There are some other tribal consumers, who received bills ranging between Rs.5,000 and Rs.6,000. “We are planning to stage a protest at the EPDCL Office at the Ravikamatham mandal headquarter on Tuesday, Feb 11, to demand justice to the tribal consumers,” Mr. Rao said.
Published – February 09, 2025 03:28 pm IST