Date:02/01/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/01/02/stories/2007010219930300.htm

Karnataka - Bangalore

`Bescom officials' dupe retired professor

Chitra V. Ramani

Bangalore: A few people masquerading as employees of Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (BESCOM) have been selling defective energy efficient bulbs in the city.

G.K. Ramaswamy, a retired sociology professor, told The Hindu that two people posing as employees of BESCOM came to his house in Bharat Housing Cooperative Layout near Uttarahalli on Friday and offered CFL (Compact Fluorescent Lamps) at a discount. "They had a register with them that had the names of residents. They asked to see my monthly electricity bill and then offered to sell the CFLs at a discount. Since I am a senior citizen, they said that if I bought one, I would get one free," he said.

Prof. Ramaswamy said that he bought two CFLs after the "BESCOM officials" said that his neighbour had also bought them. They sold each CFL at Rs. 200, when the printed price on the box was Rs. 214 and offered five years guarantee.

"When I checked the CFLs, I found that only three were working. I went in search of them, but they had disappeared after duping me," he said.

He said that he called the local BESCOM office to lodge a complaint. The officials there told him that a similar case had been reported from the area recently.

When contacted, officials said that BESCOM was not selling CFLs at consumer's doorsteps. Three reputed companies — Philips India Ltd., Osaram India Pvt. Ltd., and Asian Electronics Ltd. — had been selected as official suppliers of CFLs under the BESCOM Efficient Lighting Programme (BELP).