Himalayan News Service

Rajbiraj, May 13:

The Rajbiraj branch of the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has blacklisted names of 1034 persons including former minister Anees Ansari.

The NEA has 18,139 customers and 1034 of them owe Rs 7.443 million to the authority, informed Ram Ekwal Yadav, branch chief. He said it would be easier to collect the remaining amount after blacklisting them. In Saptari district, 17,317 are regular customers, 412 are industrial customers and 74 are businessmen while 336 lines have already been cut off.

Ram Kishor Yadav, accountant at the electricity board, said the NEA has cut off the lines of

the customers, who have failed to pay the dues. “Blacklisting of customers is a severe measure taken to compel those who are yet to pay tariff despite cutting off their lines.”

The NEA list also includes other influential people. The NEA has to collect Rs 9971 from Ansari, Rs 20,310 from Sushila Biraji, Rs 12,886 from Murari Prasad Singh, Rs 17,200 from Bhikam Chand Jain and Rs 21,400 from Mahesh Chandra Mishra, the NEA informed.

Similarly, Rs 23,467 from Kamala Singh Sonar, Rs 18,100 from Sachidanand Singh, Rs 10,600 from Sarala Rijal, Rs 5700 from Parshu Ram Dutta, Rs 8842 from Chotte Lal Das, Rs 17,532 from Kasim Ansari, Rs 8798 from Sanis Chandra Jha, Rs 32,800 from Nepal-India Friendship Association and Rs 39,717 from Rashtriya Banijya Bank has yet to be collected. But power supply has not been discontinued in the houses of blacklisted people.