A rude shock from Transco

V. Geetanath

HYDERABAD, FEB. 25. Heap of clothes on the side, an iron box running on coal and a small table near the Ganesh temple in Vijayanagar Colony is the livelihood of Amar Singh.

His small dwelling located a little distance away in the Potti Sriramulu Nagar water tank slum near Vijayanagar Colony is also the home for 500 other people doing odd jobs and earning daily wages. Just enough to keep the hearth burning.

Though startled by the power hikes last year, they carried on with their daily work and were also paying their bills promptly. But this time, it has been difficult to accept. The bi-monthly bills given by the A.P. Transmission Corporation (AP Transco) to some of them last week had left them in a state of shock.

Amar Singh and several others residing in the narrow laned, close clustered dwellings area were given bills which start anywhere from Rs. 900 to more than Rs. 10,000! These meter readings where the houses mean one, two or three tiny rooms fitted with two or three lights, a fan and at the most, a television set.

"Earlier, on an average we were receiving bills not exceeding Rs. 200. Last time, we got a bi-monthly bill of Rs.983 which we paid fearing disconnection. Now, we are billed for 2,125 units amounting to Rs. 9,924 (January-February 2001). How can it be when I have two lights and a TV only," asks a shell-shocked Amar Singh.

He has been asked to pay Rs. 4,000 immediately and rest in installments. "Where can I raise so much money?", he wonders. This tale is retold by his numerous other neighbours - all of them working as domestic servants, helpers and daily wage labourers.

Take the case of Kamalamma. The last bi-monthly bill was Rs. 456 and this time the bill has dramatically risen to Rs. 6,488! "How can it be so high when I have not added any new electrical appliances," she wishes to know, quite agitated.

Shadramma, living in the same locality, too is angry over the inflated bill. For the three rooms she is having, the bill has come to Rs. 5,737 for the first two months of the year while it was Rs. 3,471 for November-December, 2000. Aghast, she says, "We use very less power during daytime as most of us get out early in the morning for our respective chores and the house is locked. Can there be so much difference between two corresponding bills," she argues.

The bills obtained by Mr. B. Krishna and Mr. Prem are something else. They have been asked to pay Rs. 10,258 and Rs.10,396, respectively, for the last two months. This was against Rs. 5,000 and Rs. 200 paid in the last bill. "We will have to spend all our earnings to pay these power bills at this rate," rues Lakshmi, a resident.

The local AP Transco office in A.C. Guards had been of little help, they say. "When we approached them. We were rudely told to pay the amount first and seek clarifications later," says Kamalamma. "We were asked why we didn't go to them when the bills were supposedly low and threatened to disconnect the power supply," says Amar Singh.

It is quite possible that the meters are faulty. Otherwise, how does one explain Amar Singh's meter showing power consumption of 22 units in just two days? "We are illiterates. At least, we want to know why we have to pay so much. We have always been paying our bills on time. Now, will the AP Transco send us back to the dark ages," asks Amar Singh. The onus is on the transmission company to clarify matters as faulty billing/metering system continues to hassle the consumers.

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