Mayor to hold meet with officials today

Kolkata: In the wake of residents of the Ekbalpore area blaming illegal constructions and consequent power thefts as the prime reasons behind the recent electrocution deaths in the area, Mayor of Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC), Firhad Hakim is scheduled to hold a meeting on Wednesday with CESC, police and other departments of the state government to chalk out a solution.

The electrocution resulted in the deaths of two residents in the area. Following the incident, the locals were enraged at both the CESC and the KMC.

However, CESC engineers visited the spot and claimed that there were no electrical wires above the ground in that area and most of the wires were under the ground.

Locals have alleged that the area has several illegal constructions and thus Power connections to these buildings are illegally provided.

Many of them alleged that power is often stolen from electricity metres from other buildings to provide Power to these illegal structures because the sheer illegality of these buildings makes it difficult for the residents of such structures to apply for power meters.

It was also alleged that Power lines are hooked from Kolkata Municipal Corporation’s light posts for drawing electricity.

The local councillor (Ward 78) Soma Das has also admitted that she frequently receives complaints of Power theft in the area and did not rule out the possibility of several buildings not having any meter connections.