Customers of the Kashiani Palli Bidyut Samity in Gopalganj have alleged harassment over frequent load-shedding, unusually high electricity bills, discrepancies in meter readings and the collection of money for services, among other alleged irregularities.
Frequent power outages, coupled with alleged arbitrary practices by officials and employees, have sparked growing dissatisfaction among customers in the area.
Customers said electricity goes out several times a day and sometimes remains unavailable for hours, disrupting daily life as well as electricity-dependent businesses.
Ariful Islam Abhi, a businessman at Kashiani Sadar Bazar, said his establishment has three refrigerators, two fans and five lights. His monthly electricity bill normally ranges between Tk3,500 and Tk5,000.
However, he said a combined bill of Tk38,147 was issued for May, June and July.
Abhi said he visited the Kashiani Rural Electricity Office seeking an explanation and a solution but did not receive any relief. Instead, he was allegedly pressured to pay the unusually high bill.
He said the financial burden and repeated harassment eventually forced him to shut down his business.
Another customer, Shariful Islam of Hiranyakandi village, alleged that his meter showed 70 units of consumption in April, while he was billed for 140 units in May.
He said the meter reading showed "zero" in June, July and August, but he was nevertheless billed for 140 units in each of those months.
After failing to resolve the issue at the electricity office, Shariful Islam filed an online complaint with the Directorate of National Consumers’ Right Protection.
He said officials later went to his house to remove the meter, but he prevented them from doing so. Following an investigation, his electricity bills were adjusted.
Meanwhile, allegations have also been raised over the installation of an additional electricity pole and provision of a connection at the home of a customer, Israfil Molla, in Orakandi village.
According to information gathered during an inquiry, the nearest service pole was about 130 feet from Molla’s house. As an additional pole was reportedly required due to objections from a neighbour, he contacted the Ramdia Sub-Zonal Office.
The office subsequently issued a demand note of Tk28,148 for construction of a one-span line.
However, it has been alleged that after collecting a substantial amount of money from the customer, officials of the Kashiani office installed the pole and provided the connection without informing the Ramdia office.
No record of the Tk28,148 being deposited with the Ramdia office was found, according to the allegations.
Customers have raised several similar complaints against the Kashiani Rural Electricity Office, including allegations of unofficial payments for services.
Golam Faruk Mir, deputy general manager of the Kashiani Zonal Office of Palli Bidyut Samity said the allegations would be investigated.
Regarding the alleged non-deposit of the demand-note money, he said the customer had received the connection free of charge and in accordance with the rules.