Ludhiana: Women cell fails to pay Rs 10 lakh dues, power supply snapped

Tribune News Service

Nikhil Bhardwaj

Ludhiana, April 23

Since Punjab State Power Corporation Limited has started taking action against defaulters, who have not cleared their electricity bills, the power supply to the Crime against Women and Children Cell located in Rishi Nagar has also been snapped. The power supply was snapped due to outstanding electricity bill of over Rs 10 lakh. The work at cell is now being managed by hiring a gen set.

Interestingly, when yesterday morning PSPCL officials disconnected the power supply to the women cell, cops connected the supply again of their own. Later in the evening, when PSPCL senior officials got to know, they immediately sent their team and the supply was again disconnected.

The Chief Engineer, PSPCL, Ludhiana, Jasbir Singh said the women police station had not cleared the dues of over Rs 10 lakh for the past many months, despite repeated notices to the police.

The Chief Engineer added that electricity would not be restored until the Police Department clears the dues.

Sources said senior police officials are also trying to convince PSPCL officials to restore the power supply, but the latter are reportedly not in a mood to do so.

Police Commissioner Dr Kaustubh Sharma told The Tribune that he got to know about the issue and he would talk to the DG office for the allotment of special budget to clear the pending electricity bill as soon as possible. Asked about the pendency of bills of other police stations and cells of the Ludhiana Commissionerate as well, the CP admitted the pendency and said efforts were on to sort out the issue.

Power restored in evening: DCP Saumya

• The DCP, Crime against Women, Saumya Mishra, said electricity supply to the women cell was restored by the PSPCL on late Saturday evening. “The police station was started in August 2021 and there is no pendency of bill towards us. In fact the pendency of bill was of previous years when the cell was not established here,” added Mishra.
• In August 2021, then DGP Dinkar Gupta, along with then Police Commissioner Rakesh Agrawal, had inaugurated the police station.

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