Jagatsinghpur, Electricity c connections will not be cut in summer due to pending bills. Recently, the State Deputy Chief Minister and Energy Minister, Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo, issued a directive regarding this. However, despite the minister’s order, Tata Power has disconnected the electricity connections of many consumers in Jagatsinghpur in the last three to four days, citing unpaid bills. As a result, many families are living without electricity.
Since March, Tata Power employees have been visiting villages, pressuring consumers to clear their dues. Those who fail to pay their bills have had their electricity connections cut without any prior notice.
Many people have pending bills dating back to the 1999 super cyclone. As their homes were destroyed in the cyclone, they did not reconnect their electricity. Even after rebuilding their homes and getting a new connection, they received bills for previous months. Several consumers had applied for bill corrections, but no action was taken. They have been regularly paying their current monthly bills, but the old dues remain. Now, Tata Power is aggressively recovering the outstanding amounts, putting pressure on consumers. In areas where people are protesting collectively, the company is taking police assistance. When police arrive, some consumers end up paying under pressure.
Within three days, the electricity connections of many residents, including Niranjan Das, Dolagobinda Das, Kshirod Das, Pramod Das, and Surati Das from Kathiapada village in Balrampur Panchayat of Jagatsinghpur block, have been disconnected. They were not even given any prior notice from the department. When people protested, the police arrived, forcing them to remain silent. Currently, they are living in darkness. Among them, three individuals have pending dues related to cyclone relief funds. Earlier, they had made partial payments, and some dues were also taken by the previous electricity company.
Tata Power’s aggressive recovery measures have created widespread dissatisfaction among consumers.