VISAKHAPATNAM: Eleven tribal families in P. Kotnabelli, a hill-tribe village under T. Arjapuram panchayat in Ravikamatham mandal of Anakapalle district, have been left without electricity after officials cut meter wires over pending bills, plunging them into darkness for days. Villagers say the unexpected disconnection has made life extremely difficult, especially at night.
They recalled that the state government had earlier promised free electricity for SC/ST households — initially 50 units in 2008, later increased to 100 units for families consuming up to 200 units in 2019. However, these families say they had not received power bills for nearly 15 years, and when bills suddenly arrived showing large due amounts, they were unable to pay.
Most families work as seasonal labourers during paddy harvesting and earn irregular incomes. They allege the supply was cut without considering their financial struggles.
“We can pay in instalments. We asked for some time, but officials said their jobs were at risk and disconnected us,” villagers said. “We have only two bulbs and a fan. We do not know how the bills became so high.”
With no electricity, nights have become unsafe and uncomfortable. “How can we survive like this? We do odd jobs to pay our bills,” they said. Padi Bennayya, Nandaile Ramu, Sunkara Apparao, Vante Gurumurthy and Tubi Lakshmi expressed frustration that officials ignored their repeated appeals for relief.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: deccanchronicle.com
