The district president of the Karnataka State Licensed Electrical Contractors Association (KSLECA) has said that Gulbarga Electricity Supply Company (GESCOM) has been inordinately delaying calling for tenders for the supply of electricity meters in its jurisdiction.
Basavaraj Malipatil, who is the Kalaburagi district president of the association, jointly with the association presidents of various other districts, addressed a press conference in Kalaburagi on Wednesday and said that though the tender awarded to a company [Larsen and Toubro Limited (L&T)] for supplying electricity meters ended two years ago, GESCOM has failed to either renew the tender with the company or to invite fresh tender so far.
Mr. Malipatil said that thousands of applications for new meters are pending in each district. Each district requires at least 100-150 meters per day, including three phase and single phase (residential and industrial). “But we have been unable to supply meters for new connections for the last eight months,” he added.
The association members have threatened that they will stage demonstrations across the State on August 5 and press the State government to formulate a solution to their problems at the earliest.
The association will also meet Minister for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Priyank Kharge in Kalaburagi on Thursday and submit a memorandum to him.