Home Indian Muslim Ganesh devotees face Rs.4 mn fine over power theft

Ganesh devotees face Rs.4 mn fine over power theft

By IANS

New Delhi : Organisers of a Ganesh Puja marquee in the national capital have been caught stealing power and are likely to face a fine of Rs.4 million.

A theft detection squad of power distribution company BSES caught organisers of a Ganesh Puja ‘pandal’ in Karol Bagh for stealing 107 KW of electricity.

The disclosure came after BSES apprehended more than 16 camps of Kanwaria pilgrims and over 20 Janmashtami Puja organisers for stealing power.

“Organisers of the Shri Ganesh Maratha Mandal, thronged by thousands of devotees, were caught stealing electricity by tapping directly onto the nearby BSES overhead lines,” said a BSES official Wednesday.

“According to the provisions of the Indian Electricity Act, 2003, a penalty of around Rs.40 lakh is liable to be imposed on them,” the official added.

Authorities said the organisers had not taken any temporary connection, but had stationed a generator near the marquee, which gave the impression that the venue was lit by it.

Officials said more cases of power theft were expected with the festive season underway.

“Residents and organisers of functions and festivals like Durga Puja, Ram Leela, Diwali and Eid should avoid tapping electricity illegally from overhead power lines,” one official said.

He said such thefts would directly affect power supply in the area and unnecessarily overburden the system, causing unscheduled outages in the locality.

Several areas of Delhi have been facing three to four hour power cuts with the capital battling a shortage of over 400 MW of electricity a day.