Tripura electricity board disconnects power to cricket body over Rs 10.17 lakh dues

A day after Tripura's Power Minister Ratan Lal Nath addressed the state’s worsening electricity payment scenario, the Tripura State Electricity Corporation Limited (TSECL) on Monday disconnected the power supply of the Dharmanagar Cricket Association, located in the North District of Tripura, over year-long non-payment of dues amounting to Rs 10.17 lakh.

In his press briefing, Minister Nath revealed a concerning statistic: only 41% of electricity consumers in Tripura pay their bills on time. The remaining 59% regularly default, plunging the state electricity corporation into financial distress. He emphasized that without direct support from the state government, the power corporation would have collapsed under its growing liabilities.

On Monday, an official from TSECL said that the corporation’s Dharmanagar division executed the disconnection of the Dharmanagar Cricket Association’s power supply.

“The association had not cleared its dues for nearly a year, despite repeated verbal requests and multiple written notices. TSECL does not wish to disconnect anyone’s electricity, especially institutions of public interest," a senior official from the corporation said, adding, "But if repeated requests are ignored and dues continue to accumulate, we are left with no other option but to enforce disconnection as per regulations."