Over nine lakh power consumers of Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) Undertaking will get electricity bills for two months only in January 2014 because of a technical glitch in the software used to generate bills. Shrikant Khedkar,deputy general manager (electric supply),said the BEST would be able to resolve the problem by this month-end,following which bills for November and December would be dispatched to supply users. BEST provides electric supply to residents and commercial establishments in the island city. The software used by it for the last few years has often drawn the ire of committee members. Last month,the BEST discovered that its data had become corrupted,following which the system was shut down. Though the bills will be dispatched later than the due date,BEST will ensure consumers do not have to pay for late payments. Even the slabs of units consumed will be as per the regular bill cycle to avoid overcharging consumers, a BEST spokesperson said. Meanwhile,with the civic body pledging Rs 375 crore a year to the cash-strapped BEST,its committee members Monday demanded that the proposal to hike bus fares be dropped. A fare hike of upto 33 per cent has been approved by the standing committee of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on December 19,which will help the cash-strapped transport body to earn Rs 130 crore annually. However,BEST committee chairman Nana Ambole said the fare hike was necessary to compensate fuel price hikes. Committee members are likely to meet Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan to seek financial assistance from the state government. student hit by bus to get Rs 26 lakh in relief Varun Sidhaye,who suffered 100 per cent disability following a bus accident in 2010,will be paid a record compensation of Rs 26.5 lakh by the BEST. A 22-year-old college student in 2010,Sidhaye suffered grievous head injuries after he was hit by a BEST bus near Ambedkar garden in Chembur. The Lokadalat has directed BEST to compensate the pedestrian who was declared as 100 per cent handicapped after the accident. mumbai.newsline@expressindia.com
