Water meter fiasco and indifferent and even rude officials
During May/ June and June/ July this year, my household consumption of water suddenly increased from the usual of around 17 units to 35 units and 63 units respectively. This was baffling. Hence, I brought this to the notice of the National Water Supply & Drainage Board ( NWSDB) office at Wellawatte. The officers there said they would replace my water meter with a new one and send the old one for “testing”. I agreed and paid the cost of replacement/testing.
When the new meter was installed, the consumption came down to the usual of around 16 units for 28 days. Hypothetically, the Water Board proportioned it for 30 days and billed me for 22 units which was the wrong thing to do. The correct reading should have been 16 units. I brought this to the notice of the Customer Service
Division and they accepted my position.
Subsequently, I received a letter dated September 18, stating that my old meter was “properly functioning” and to settle the bill for the excess units in May/ June and June/ July amounting to about Rs. 10,000. I lodged a protest with the Wellawatte office, but the officers there said that they had no power to withdraw the bill as no fault was indicated in the meter. There was no answer as to why the new meter was showing the usual consumption. They said they were helpless and to report the matter to the Maligakanda office.
I met the manager there who was quite rude and refused to accept my letter of complaint stating that the letter from the Wellawatte office did not indicate any fault in the meter. I tried to explain the disparity shown by the new meter in the units consumed, which was similar to the earlier water consumption pattern.
I also informed the manager that the technical officer who installed the new meter explained to me that the numerals in the meter intermittently go haywire which cannot be identified easily. The manager shouted at me that I was wasting his time and curtly told me to meet the Chairman/Minister or go to court.
As advised, I informed the Chairman by letter – sent under registered post on October 9 – of the situation. But up to date, I have not received a reply from the Chairman. My attempts to meet the Chairman also failed. When I contacted him over the phone, he said that he passed on my letter to the Additional General Manager, for necessary action.
I contacted the Additional
General Manager who had apparently not seen the letter and asked me to explain the problem over the phone. I did so and his reply was that as a “government servant” he could not overlook the report submitted by the technical division and remedy the situation. He could not explain the variation in consumption indicated in the old and new meters, despite the fact that the new meter was indicating the consumption correctly as in the past.
Maybe, the testing machine of the meter needs to be checked as well.
Meanwhile, I paid for the socalled excess consumption, fearing the stoppage of water.
Man vs. Machine or Fact vs. Fiction?
K. Balendra
Via email