“Are you not taking
government’s salary? Why are you refusing to give a complaint form?”
fumed 65-year-old N Chalapathi Rao, holding photocopies of
representation of problems in his water meter. Staffers at the Prajavani
of the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board
(HMWS&SB) had refused to give him an application form saying the
time was over when it was only 12.30 p.m. Customers were given time for
obtaining forms till 1 p.m.Though Water Board officials claim
their Prajavani is a ‘big success’ and they solve customer’s problems
‘on the spot’, the situation at the Board office on Monday indicated
otherwise.In another case, Dattu, a resident of Alwal had come to
the Prajavani to get his name changed, which had been printed wrongly
in the bill. But he too went back disappointed.Though about 200
customers were present at the Prajavani with their complaints, most of
them returned empty-handed alleging lack of response from officials.
Some had lodged their complaints in previous Prajavani programmes but in
vain. The Prajavani programme is held in all Board offices on all
Mondays from 10 am to 1 pm. On Monday, heated arguments between
customers and officials was the order of the day.N Chalapathi Rao
from Malakpet told Express that he had lodged complaints twice (ID No.
021205804) at the Prajavani. He added that the meter at his house was
giving wrong readings and alleged he was forced to pay more than the
normal readings. “It is a small mistake and can be rectified in a short
time. I am chasing all officials at Malakpet, Goshamahal and even
complained earlier in the Prajavani at the Khairatabad office but my
problem has not been addressed,’’ he complained.Holding a young
baby, a 30-year-old Sanathnagar resident, Sri Lakshmi was seen standing
in corner of the hall, where Prajavani proceedings were going on. Even
as she sent her complaint form for irregular water supply, officials
failed to accept it. She had to walk away disappointed. J Narender Yadav
from Rajnagar in Borabanda said he had obtained a water connection
(062316079) in 2000. “Since then, there was no water supply till 2009.
Only in 2010, water supply started but I received a bill of `19, 049. I
met officials but they only reduced my bill by `3,033 and asked me to
pay `16,016.” On an average, a customer pays about `1500 towards water
bill but surprisingly for Narender, the bill was abnormally high.
22-year-old Asif, resident of Asifnagar said, “They issued a bill
(033138767) with an excess amount of `13,798. When I asked about it,
they threatened to impose a fine or file a police case if I failed to
pay it by due date.’’ The most common complaints were abnormally high
bills received by customers followed by faulty meter readings and no
water supply.
By Mouli Mareedu
moulimareedu@gmail.com
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