Lucknow. The initiative of the Uttar Pradesh Electricity Department to rely on women to recover electricity dues from the villagers is paying off. As a result of inclusion of rural women of Self Help Groups (SHGs) as ‘Bijli Sakhis’ under the State Government’s initiative under National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM), more than Rs. Electricity bills have been collected.
Bijli Sakhis have recovered dues from Soraon, Koraon, Phulpur, Meja, Karchana, Mauaima and Pratappur development blocks of Prayagraj district. These dues were deposited between February 1 and June 15, 2021.
Vinod Kumar Gangwar, Chief Electrical Engineer, Prayagraj Division, said, “These women have ensured that electricity dues from rural areas are ensured even during the second wave of the pandemic. Now we are planning to encourage more rural women to join this mission. It also aims to empower them and do a great national service.
NRLM District Mission Manager Amit Shukla said that the performance of rural women, most of whom are first time working, has been commendable.
“We trained 115 women to work as Bijli Sakhis in Prayagraj and 102 of them have started working by reading electricity meters, making bills and collecting dues,” he said. The fact is that in less than five months he has earned a commission of Rs 2.5 lakh. It really deserves praise. ”
These 102 women working in 10 groups have collected this amount from 5,274 consumers, which has surprised even senior officials of the electricity department.
Before starting work, Bijli Sakhis take brief training on meter reading and electricity bill generation.
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