KRISHNAGIRI: A 33-year-old woman in near Ammaneri village who is dependent on oxygen concentrator has sought help from the government to pay electricity bill which amounts to Rs 6,000 every month.
N Chitra (33) was diagnosed as suffering from Interstitial Lung Disease eight years ago and has been bedridden for the past two years. Her mother P Chennamma (55), told TNIE,
“My daughter has respiratory issues for more than eight years and her eye sight has come down since July. Her husband who works at a bakery in another district, earns around `500 per day. Also, she has a son who is studying in class 3 in a panchayat school. For more than three years she used an oxygen concentrator with just five litres capacity and we petitioned Krishnagiri collector K M Sarayu last June for a 10 litre capacity oxygen concentrator.”
She added, “After using the concentrator, the EB bill increased from Rs 2,000 to Rs 6,500. In June, the bill was Rs 2,030, it increased to Rs 3,830 in August, Rs 6,660 in October and Rs 5,960 in December. We were unable to pay the bill on time. I approached the district child protection unit to get support for the EB bill.”
Chennamma further said, “We are struggling during the monthly power shutdown and at that time, we either need to use an inverter or go to the government hospital.” District child protection unit, protection officer, K Subash said he had spoken to the district collector and she would release funds for one month’s EB bill.
When contacted, TANGEDCO officials said, “To reduce the bill or to get any relaxation, the family will have to approach the senior officials in Chennai.”
Collector K M Sarayu told TNIE that she would try to contact state level TANGEDCO officials or speak to private companies to help the family.