Karnal: Charging e-rickshaws at home costs owners dear

Parveen Arora

Karnal, January 24

Charging of e-rickshaws at home has cost several e-rickshaw operators dear as their names have been removed from the ‘below poverty line’ (BPL) category; the reason being their annual electricity bill exceeding the limit fixed by the state government to stay in the category.

As per norms of the state government, beneficiaries of the BPL category should not have an electricity bill of more than Rs 9,000 annually, but, the operators say each one gets a bill of nearly Rs 3,000 to Rs 4,000 in two months if they charge the batteries of their rickshaws at home.

Some operators have taken e-rickshaws on rent by paying Rs 200-300 per day and if they get their rickshaws charged from other places, each one has to pay Rs 7,000 for two months.

Besides, the government has also excluded the names of those whose annual income is more than Rs 1.80 lakh in the ‘Parivar Pehchan Patra’.

“I am the only breadwinner in a family of four. My family was earlier in the BPL category, but now, it has been removed from the list as my electricity bill is exceeding the fixed limit,” said Parshuram Verma, an e-rickshaw operator of Rajiv Colony.

He is not the only one who has lost the BPL status due to the power bill. There are a number of e-rickshaw operators of Sadar Bazar and Hansi road, whose names were removed from the list.

Additional Deputy Commissioner Vaishali Sharma, said she had received five to six such complaints. “The issue has been discussed with the higher authorities concerned for necessary directions. Hopefully, within this week, this issue will be resolved,” said Sharma.