Public Outrage Mounts Over ‘Ghost’ Electricity Bills

The country continues to face a severe crisis of fuel oil, gas and electricity. The Iran-Iraq war has thrown this sector into turmoil. This crisis has arisen due to the inability of ships to navigate the Strait of Hormuz properly. The government is trying to import fuel from various sources at high prices. BNP Acting Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi said last week that the gas crisis will return to normal levels within one to one and a half weeks. The State Minister for Power has also expressed optimism about electricity. The country has already seen some increase in gas supply due to the arrival of LNG ships. The authorities concerned have said that eight LNG ships will arrive this month. This will greatly reduce the gas and electricity crisis. Needless to say, the gas and electricity crisis is disrupting public life, and the overall production system, including industries, business and commerce, have come to a standstill. The medical system is also being disrupted due to load shedding. Yesterday, an 11-party alliance held a long march from Dhaka to Chittagong on the issue of gas and electricity crisis. Opposition parties get support when they engage in politics on public issues. However, the acting secretary general of the BNP has called on the opposition to present alternative plans and suggestions to the government in the National Parliament to resolve the gas and electricity crisis.

The extreme anger of the common people over the gas and electricity crisis is being expressed in various ways through social media. On the one hand, they are not getting gas and electricity, on the other hand, they have to pay their bills at the end of the month. It is natural for customers to be angry if they do not get the service they paid for. This anger has been further increased by the ghostly electricity bills. They are expressing strong anger against the government through social media regarding the ghostly bills. They are highlighting the huge difference between the current month’s bill and the previous month’s bill. It is seen that the current month’s bill is double the previous month’s bill in some cases. Numerous people are expressing anger over these additional bills. The reason for this is that even though the price of electricity has increased, they have an idea of ​​how many bills can be received in a given month. When the bill doubles, it is questioned for good reason. When you contact the electricity office in the concerned area about the additional bill, you do not get any good answer. This is not the case of one or two people. Almost all electricity consumers are victims of these ghostly bills. Those who use ACs know how much their electricity bills can be. After spending hours without electricity due to load shedding, if at the end of the month they see that the bill has doubled, in some cases tripled, then they have no choice but to get angry. Even during the time of fascist Ms. Hasina, people were angry about such outrageous electricity bills. Even money was deducted from the bank deposits of ordinary people. There was no explanation for why and for what reason extra money was being taken out of people’s pockets. Taking money out of people while making them suffer is not good for any government.

The current government has started its journey with a devastated economy. There is no reason to think that the economy will recover overnight. The government is working to strengthen the economy. It will take time to see the results. However, the government’s main priority should be, by all means, to bring the lives of the common people who are suffering to a comfortable state. The reality is that they are not comfortable. The gas and electricity crisis, the rise in the price of daily necessities, the decline in income, and the struggle to run their families have made their lives miserable. There is no indication of how much the government understands the suffering of the common people. There is no clear statement from the government on this. The government should explain or answer why the people who are suffering have to pay bills despite not getting gas, why the ghostly electricity bills are being paid. It should be disclosed for the sake of the government’s transparency and accountability. Special steps should be taken to make people’s daily lives easier and more comfortable. It is important to investigate whether any group is conspiring to tarnish the image of the government by angering the people over the electricity bill.