QUEPEM: Nearly 1,500 households in Quepem taluka were shocked to receive a consolidated bill of three months for water consumption which has put them in a quandary on how to pay these huge amounts.

It is learnt that these consumers got the bill for three months because the meter readers, being on duty as Booth Level Officers, for just held Lok Sabha elections, could not submit the bills as scheduled.

PWD Assistant Engineer (AE), Curchorem Dinkar Panekar said the bills were delayed as meter readers were on election duty as BLOs and hence could not attend to their regular duties.

“I can only assure that the bills from the month of June will be issued regularly as was done by the seven meter readers who were not on election duty,” he said.

Some consumers have got a bill of a staggering Rs 11,000 which they find difficult to pay with their monthly salary.

Around 1424 families from parts of Curchorem, Cacora and Xeldem village have got the consolidated bills.

There were quite a number of people who visited the PWD office at Curchorem on Friday to complain having received the bills two days back.

What they found particularly irksome is that they have been asked to pay these huge amounts within 10 days.

“We have to pay the electricity bill too that we received now and along with that this huge water bill is just too much for a common man to pay,” said Chandrakant Pednekar from Xeldem.

Curchorem constituency is covered by 10 meter readers of which three were posted on BLO duty from March onwards and hence could not issue the bills to the above mentioned three places.

“If the government can issue a consolidated bill to us, then it should also allow us to pay the bill in instalments considering that we cannot pay this huge amount in one go,” said Santana Gonsalves from Pontemol, Curchorem.