Sonepat villagers oppose shifting of power meters

BS Malik

Sonepat, October 14

The ‘Mhara Gaon, Jagmag Gaon’ programme, which was launched by the state government in April 2015, aimed to enhancing power supply in villages, recovering the defaulting amounts and curbing the line losses incurred by the Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (UHBVN) due to power theft.

Under the programme, power meters were to be installed on electricity poles outside residential premises and villagers were required to pay the outstanding bills. But it failed to receive the desired response from villagers in Sonepat district. They continue to oppose it on one pretext or the other.

In the first phase of the programme, 11 villages under five feeders in the district were chosen and so far, the work has been completed in only three villages. Similarly, in the second phase, out of 15 villages, eight had been fully covered under the scheme. A survey was also conducted to include 41 villages under 11 feeders in the third phase of the programme.

However, in many villages, nigam officials faced stiff opposition from the villagers in shifting of the meters outside the residential premises. Even with the help of the police during a week-long drive at Garhi Ujale Khan village near Gohana town, the nigam could not succeed in shifting the meters.

Womenfolk carrying lathis and sticks came out on streets and smashed the meters that were shifted to electricity poles. The team was forced to abandon the exercise and a case was registered by the police against some residents. Similar opposition was faced by nigam teams in a number of villages in the Rai region of the district.

Commenting on the situation, SN Sharma, Superintendent, UHBVN, at Sonepat told The Tribune that it was the beginning of the programme and the people would soon realise its benefits after its success in the adjoining villages. “Some villagers with vested interests try to incite others against shifting of meters, but they will not succeed in doing so for long,” he opined.