Rs 4.59 cr collected during anti-theft drive

BAREILLY: The power department’s anti-theft drive, which started on January 12, seems to have garnered success with arrears to the tune of Rs 4.59 crore being collected in the past month and a half. The anti-theft team has lodged complaints against 254 consumers so far while 2,273 users have benefitted from new connections.
During the drive, around 1396 consumers took benefit of the one time settlement (OTS) scheme while over 3,050 electricity meters were replaced by anti-theft teams during this period.On the other hand, around 2,500 power connections were disconnected due to pending dues so far, said a power official.
However, despite its success, the drive continues to face stiff opposition from locals in various parts of the city.
According to reports, the power department officials found technical glitches in metres, including placement of shunts (which slow down metres), and started snapping the power supply in in Garhaiya and adjoining localities under Quila Police station. Local residents got into heated arguments with the officials, but with the timely intervention of cops, the drive continued.
SDO Shamshuddin said, “Due to some elements who indulge in power theft, there is a problem for everybody, even those who submit their arrears on time. Lack of dedicated police teams has also hit the drive on numerous occasions. But we managed with whatever resources we had available and even motivated locals to timely deposit their electricity bills and inform vigilance teams about locals involved in power theft.”
Superintending engineer (Urban) N K Srivastava said, “The anti-theft drive commenced in the district on January 12 and is scheduled till February 28. So far our anti-theft teams have raised arrears of Rs 4.59 crores from all 3 Electricity Urban Distribution Division (EUDD). While the drive, as per instructions from senior officials, is scheduled to come to an end on February 28, we are still facing huge problems as locals are not willing to cooperate with teams. Cases of locking their residences and others were reported from time to time from various dense localities during the drive.”
Giving break up of 3 EUDD circles, he said, circle 1 had collected arrears of Rs 1.84 crore including Rs 6.10 lakh on Wednesday. On the other hand, circle 2 had collected Rs 81 lakh so far including Wednesday’s collection worth Rs 1.10 lakh while circle 3 remained best in terms of recovery, where anti-theft teams managed to collect Rs 1.93 crores with Rs 5.57 lakh on Wednesday.