Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Apr 24: All Jammu Hotels and Lodges Association (AJHLA) today expressed serious concern over the generation of fabricated electricity bills for the month of March by the Power Development Department (PDD). The same have been displayed on its official website.
The issue was raised by the office bearers during the meeting, organised through video conferencing. The chairman of the Association urged the Government to defer the payment of bills for at-least six months as the hotel industry is facing tough time due to COVID-19 pandemic.
President, Pawan Gupta said that the nationwide lockdown had badly hit the traders, industry, service providers and particularly the tourism industry and there is bleak chance of its revival in near future but the electricity bill displayed on JKPDD official website are not of actual amount. It is 3 to 4 times higher than the actual electricity consumed during that period of previous year.
“The hoteliers who are already under financial stress corona pandemic coupled with lockdown, the electricity department is rubbing salt on their wounds by increasing electricity tariff. “At this juncture when there is no occupancy of rooms in budget hotels to meet their both ends and the power department is asking to pay the bills four months in advance that too without recording the actual reading from the installed electric meters in the hotel premises, it is unfortunate,” he said.
Other office bearers who participated in the meeting were HS Manhas, Anil Khajuria, Pritam Sharma, Baldev Raj and ML Sharma.
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