Muslim Ansari, a tailor from Valsad, Gujarat, was left shocked when he received an electricity bill amounting to lakhs of rupees. Ansari, who has always been a consistent bill payer, was stunned to discover that his latest bill reached to an amount of Rs 86 lakh.
Ansari, a resident of Valsad, runs a shop called New Fashion Tailor in Chor Gali, where he specializes in stitching men's clothing, from shirts and pants to sherwanis.
Discovering his electricity bill, Ansari stated, “I was shocked and wondered how this could happen. I rushed to the electricity board office the next day and showed them the bill.”
Ansari pays his electricity bill to Dakshin Gujarat Vij Company Limited, which serves more than 32 lakh customers across seven districts in South Gujarat.
After he complained, the electricity department checked his meter. They found that the officer had mistakenly added two extra digits, "10," leading to the huge amount.
An employee of the power distribution company, Hitesh Patil said, “The person who took the meter reading added the digit 10 to it which resulted in Rs 86 lakh as the electricity bill. We have now given a revised bill of Rs1,540.”
After the confusion was resolved, Ansari felt relieved.“They reviewed the issue and issued a new bill. The electricity bill for my shop is usually under Rs 2,000,” said Ansari.
The incident has attracted many people's attention to his shop. “I might start charging for photographs,” he joked.