Mumbai, May 6: In a shocking incident, the power supply to over 3000 slums in Chembur's Siddharth colony was cut off on Friday morning for non-payment of dues since 2005. Sources said that the slum is located on the Eastern Express Highway.

According to a report in the Indian Express, residents of Siddharth Colony alleged that back in 2005 redevelopers promised them to pay the electricity dues. While there has been no progress on the redevelopment of the building, over the years, the electricity dues have amounted to Rs 102 crore, a spokesperson for Adani Electricity said. Russia-Ukraine War: US Gave Intel That Helped Ukraine Sink Iconic Russian Warship 'Moskva', Says Report.

Agitation and protests by local residents have always stalled the efforts of the electricity distribution company which made numerous efforts to recover the pending dues. Ever since Adani Electricity acquired Reliance Infra, the company has taken a firm stand on electricity theft and pending overdue.

A spokesperson from Adani Electricity said, "It is unfortunate that Residents of Siddharth Colony appear to believe that they are entitled to electricity supply despite non-payment of dues. On humanitarian grounds, we had restored the electricity supply on the assurance that residents would start paying."

He further added, "However not only are these defaulting consumers not paying, but they are creating hindrance when our staff and partners visit door to door for collecting dues or to legitimately disconnect (power supply of) defaulting consumers. Our staff face resistance, abuse and threats. In fact, many consumers whose supply was disconnected have started resorting to electricity theft. Accordingly, in the interest of the safety of our staff and the larger interest of our regular paying consumers, we are constrained to take this action and disconnect supply to the defaulting consumers of Siddharth Colony."

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 06, 2022 04:12 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).