A farmer in Rajshahi’s Natore, was left stunned after receiving an electricity bill over Tk1.52 crore for a single month, far exceeding the typical amount for his small rice mill.
After the issue went viral on social media, the Natore Rural Electrification Board-1 acknowledged the mistake and revised the amount to Tk16,620.
“We made a major error, and the bill has now been corrected,” Muhammad Abu Naser, deputy general manager (technical) of the electrification board told The Business Standard today (2 October).
“A show-cause notice had been issued to the employee responsible for the mistake,” he added.
The farmer Mohammad Jalal Uddin, a resident of Amirganj village in Lakshmipur’s Kholabaria union, received the inflated bill on 24 September.
Jalal Uddin told TBS, “My average electricity bill for the past year has been around Tk15,000 per month. When I saw the inflated bill, I was so shocked that I fell ill. Even if I sold all my property, it wouldn’t cover half the amount.”
According to local sources, Jalal operates a small rice mill, which he currently uses for processing medicinal herbs due to the mill being inactive. The mill is connected to the electrification board, serving a village known for being the largest medicinal herb producer in the country.
