Electricity bill

Amid the electricity bills soaring high in Mumbai, now an incident occurred in the Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir where a man was left in shock after he received an electricity bill of whopping Rs 10 crore during the lockdown. 

Mohd Hanief, who belonged to Gugran village Mendhar Sub Division, was sent a bill from the office of Power Development Department (PDD). Hanief was taken aback when he received his bill for the month of May from the power department. 

Electricity bill of Rs 10,08,38,138.00, a computer error?

The man stood in a state of shock when he read the bill amount mentioned Rs 10,08,38,138.00. Worried about the situation, the man then rushed to the Sarpanch of his village to seek help in the matter. 

The Sarpanch then reached out to the PDD office and also the Tehsildar of Mendhar. As the bill had already been heavily circulated on social media, the Tehsildar was aware of the man's situation but the PDD remained aloof in this matter. 

Blackouts in India
Muslim girls study in the light of candles inside a madrasa or religious school during power-cut in Noida on the outskirts of New Delhi (Reuters)

According to reports, the matter is still under investigation and it is said to be a computer error. When the authorities were contacted, they claimed it to be a computer error and the bill was sent without any prior verification. The bill currently stands corrected, claims the authority. 

This raised dilemma on social media as the village in Poonch experiences erratic power supply and is subjected to frequent power cuts on a regular basis.