PATNA: Even martyrs have to pay arrears of electricity bills in Bihar, sounds bizarre but true. North Bihar Power Distribution Company having its headquarters in Muzaffarpur has pasted notices asking two martyrs Khudiram Bose and Prafulla Chaki to pay electricity bill arrears worth Rs.1.36 lakh within a week to avoid power disconnection.
The notices were pasted at memorial sites of the two martyrs who were hanged till death on August 11, 1908, in Muzaffarpur. The energy bills issued on February 22 showed arrears worth Rs1,36,943. If not paid by March 4, the power connection of the memorial sites will be disconnected, notices issued by NBPDC said.
The memorial sites of both the martyrs are located in the Company Bagh locality of the town, a stone's throw distance from the offices of the divisional commissioner, inspector general of police, district magistrate and senior superintendent of police among others.
The memorial site is located at the same spot where Khudiram Bose and Prafulla Chaki had hurled bombs on British women on April 30, 1908. Though they had targeted to kill British judge magistrate Douglas Kingsford, two British women-- were killed as Kingsford was travelling in a different horse-driven carriage.
A senior officer of a power distribution company posted at Bidyut Bhawan in Patna said that the bills are genuine and notices have been pasted at the memorial sites of the two martyrs. “The memorial sites are being maintained by a private company, which will have to pay the bills,” he told this reporter.
Apart from memorial sites at Company Bagh, a stadium is named after this martyr. The space where Khudiram Bose was hanged till death has been kept safe at the central jail at Muzaffarpur where people offer floral tributes to the departed soul on their martyrdom.
Terming it as an insult to the martyrs, a Muzaffarpur-based social activist Mohan Prasad Gupta said that the senior officials of the district should take initiative to avoid the disconnection of electricity to the memorial sites.
“The authorities of the district should look into the matter on a priority basis and ensure that power supply is not disconnected by NBPDC,” he asserted.