Irrigation pump users besiege PDB office

Local power pump owners gather in front of the office of Power Development Board in Kaliganj upazila under Lalmonirhat district yesterday demanding immediate step to correct the 'ghost' bills for power consumption for irrigation in the last boro season. Photo: STAR

The irrigation pump owners besieged the Power Development Board (PDB) office in Kaliganj upazila under the district yesterday demanding immediate steps to correct the 'ghost' bills they received for the last boro season.
"Bills ranging from Tk 20,000 to Tk 90,000 had been added to the actual bills for the last boro season. Irrigation pump owners got the bills in May last year. We made written complaint against the 'ghost bills' to the local PDB office in June, then again in August and October but to no effect," said Wahed Ali, president of Kaliganj upazila pump owners association.
“Lastly we have besieged the PDB office to get our logical demand met,” he said.
Many irrigation pump owners are hesitant to run their machines during the current boro season in fear of getting 'ghost bills' again, much to the worry of farmers.
According to pump owners of the upazila, the Chamta feeder line at Kaliganj upazila covers areas under Kaliganj and Hatibandha upazilas and the number of pump users under the feeder line is 1500.
Pump owner Mofizar Rahman at Sree Khata village of Kaliganj upazila said he did not pay his power bills for the last boro season as he received an additional bill of Tk 32,000.
“Now I am facing uncertainty about use of irrigation pump in the current boro season as I can't run my machine without paying bills for the last season."
Monsur Ali, another pump owner at Dakkhin Ghonosham village of the upazila said, "I used power worth Tk 21,000 according to the unit charge in the last boro season, but I received bills of Tk 1,12,500.”
“If I can't run my machine boro cultivation on 70 acres of land in the village will face setback due to lack of irrigation. Like me, all the pump owners in this area have received ghost bills," he said.
Seeking anonymity, an official Kaliganj PDB office, said the additional power bills, termed as 'adjusted', had been imposed on the power pump users to cover their system loss.
A reliable source in the PDB, however, said such adjustment of the bills is 'contrary to the law'.
December 25 last was fixed as the last date for payment of power bills for the last boro season but 90 percent of the consumers could not pay the bills as much higher than actual bills had been imposed, said Yakub Ali, general secretary of Kaliganj upazila power pump owners association.
Kaliganj upazila agriculture officer Shamsuddin Miah said, 50 percent of the targeted 12,390 hectares of land for boro farming in the upazila this season is yet to be cultivated due to lack of irrigation water.
Contacted, Probir Kumar Rudro, Kaliganj PDB resident engineer, said, "I have given permission to all the irrigation pump owners to run their machines and 80 percent of them have already started running their machines for irrigation in boro fields. Rest 20 percent will get power connection by a week to run their machines."
"I am unaware about the reason of additional bills as I joined the office only 20 days ago. I have been collecting all the ghost bills from the pump owners and sending them to Rangpur PDB office for correction. The pump owners will get result by a month,” he said.