This cobbler shop gets Rs 2-lakh power bill

Thane resident Santosh Ahire got a rude shock when he got his power bill three days ago.

Thane resident Santosh Ahire got a rude shock when he got his power bill three days ago.

Ahire, a cobbler who works in a shop that is lit by just one bulb for three hours in a day, got a monthly bill of over Rs 2 lakh from the Maharashtra State Electricity Board (MSEB).

Ahire got an electric meter fitted in his shop three months ago and had taken all mandatory permissions from the civic body to run the shop.

He said, "My first bill was of Rs 30, while the second bill was of Rs 370. However, the latest bill that I have received is of Rs 2,01,050."

Powerful shock: Ahire lights theu00a0 bulb for just three hours in the evening.

Ahire added that even if he works all his life and sells his one-room home, he wouldn't be able to pay the bill.

"When I went to the MSEB office, they asked me to pay the bill. Besides, they assured me that they'd look into the matter.

But, how will I pay the bill? I earn just Rs 2,000-3,000 a month and have a huge family to feed," said Ahire, who has pasted copies of the bill inside his shop and on an electric pole outside the shop to let people know the price he is paying for lighting a bulb.

Ram Dontonde, Public Relation Officer of the MSEB, agreed that the bill was a mistake. "We'll have to find out the reason why such a thing happened and rectify the same."