5 Guarantees fallout in Karnataka: Electricity company staffer thrashed in Koppal

Koppal: In a 5 Guarantees (5Gs) fallout, an employee of Gulbarga Electricity Supply Company (Gescom) was thrashed by a man at Kukanapalli village in Koppal district on Tuesday.

R Manjunatha, the bill collector, was beaten up by one Chandrasekhar Hiremath when he asked him to foot the pending bills amounting to Rs 9,000.

Chandrasekhar also tried to thrash another Gescom employee, who was recording the incident on his cellphone.

According to eyewitnesses, Chandrasekhar was telling the Gescom officials that he would pay the pending bills only after the incumbent Congress government implements its one of the 5Gs of providing 200 units of free electricity.

Police case registered against a consumer in #Koppal district after he
refuses to pay bills & attacked #GESCOM official.#Munirabad police take up the case#ElectricityBill #Karnataka #india #viral #viralvideo pic.twitter.com/lkH14vumBb

— Siraj Noorani (@sirajnoorani) May 24, 2023

Many such incidents have been reported in the media where people in some parts of the state refused to pay electricity bills, and abused bill collectors.

Village Lady: " What Electricity bill? After voting they said we don't need to pay any bills, go and ask them for money".

EB Guy: "No Madam you have to pay".

Another Lady: "We will not pay also, don't come to my house".#Karnataka enjoy 5 years of this pic.twitter.com/U3yM7Ov9Vy

— Arun Pudur (@arunpudur) May 18, 2023

Videos of bill collectors being harassed by the consumers in several parts of the state have gone viral on social media. People also are posting messages urging people not to pay their electricity bills in the wake of Congress government's guarantee of providing 200 units of free electricity.

Because of the harassment being faced by the consumers, Gescom officials in Ballari and Koppal divisions have gone on leave, a Gescom staffer said. (UNI)