Thousands in Gazipur await installation of electric meters for months

More than 10,000 people in Gazipur are yet to get their electricity connections even five months after submitting application and paying money for it to the Gazipur Palli Bidyut Samity.

The authorities told the applicants they would get the meters within a month, once they arrive from China.

Syed Mashiur Rahman, a resident of North Rajbarhi, said he deposited money and even received his Customer Meter Order (CMO) for his connection almost five months ago after inspection and wiring was completed.

Unfortunately, the meter was yet to be installed.

A similar complaint was lodged by Md Abul Kashem of Gazipur City Corporation’s Ward-15. He said he applied for three electricity meters about six months back.

Gazipur Palli Bidyut SamityAssistant General Manager (Customer Services) Shyamol Chandra Ghosh told him the meters would be installed as soon as they arrive from China.

Ghosh asked him to contact the General Manager when he wanted to know the cause of the delay.

Another sufferer, Bazlur Rashid of Bogura Thana, said the meter at his home came off during a storm and was dangling over a wire.

He informed the Palli Bidyut Office about it the following day but they came after a month and took the meter away. When Rashid went to get it back, he was asked to pay a fine of Tk 30,000.

The matter was later ‘settled’, after he paid Tk 10,000 to the officials, he said.

“I regularly pay service charge yet I had to face this unnecessary harassment. I could have had it fixed, if I just hired a regular electrician.”

When AGM Ghosh was asked about the complaints, he said, “The meters will soon be here.”

“Although 10,000 CMOs have been issued over a period of five months, connections could not be provided to consumers due to the lack of meters.”

A total of 225 MW Electricity was required to meet the demands of 267,000 businesses, industries and regular Palli Bidyut consumers in the district.

General Manager (Engineering) Zahirul Islam said, “It is taking some time for the meters to arrive in Bangladesh after tender submission.”

He said their head office informed that the meters would come by the end of September, but they failed to arrive.

“When I asked the head office about it again on Sunday, it said the meters will arrive by the end of this month.”