28.10.04
Gas Office:
Now lets talk about the gas connection. Just listen to the conversation I had with a employee of Bakhrabad Gas office.
I: We want to convert out 5 single gas burners into double burners. Can you tell me the procedure?
He: Okay, it’s easy. You will have to fill up this form. Pay 2000TK to the government for the approval to being this change and pay additional 2,500TK as ‘service charge’.
I: Why do I have to pay the 2000TK for?
He: Well. That’s the government law. For 5 burners 2000 taka.
I: And what this ‘service charge’ is for? Is it for to change the burners for us?
He: Yes. Quite like so.
I: But, I think we ourselves can change the burners. I myself have done it some times and it’s very easy. We don’t need government’s help for it.
He: Actually we don’t work for less than 2,500TK but I liked you much. You are like my younger brother. So just for you I will take 2000TK.
I: But… 2000TK is still too much. Besides we don’t need any servicing.
He: Okay... Okay…. kid. Don’t argue any more. I will take just 1,800TK from you. We never take so little as ‘service charge’. This is especially for you.
After this I gave him the money and he just signed in couple of pages and handed me a sheet and said, “It’s done. Now you can change your burners.”
Water Board
We weren’t getting water from the Government water pipe line for many months. So the other day I went to the WASA office to have it disconnected. There, on the ground floor I informed my problem at the ‘enquiry’. I was then told to go to the 5th floor and get the ‘due list’, if we have any bill unpaid. I went there and took the due list. There I was told to go to the 4th floor with the ‘due list’. After going there I was told to go to the first floor again because they don’t work for our area. Now after looking in several rooms I finally found the guy who works for our area. He told me to have a photocopy of the ‘due list’, go to his boss, have it signed and after paying the due bills go to the forth floor.
And like many government offices the lift of this building also doesn’t work properly to give the ordinary people proper exercise, I had a bit too much that day.
I did it as he said. But then found that it’s over 1pm. The office won’t work on any sort of things like this one. They have other better things to do. So I went to the office on the next day. I gave the application to an official on the 4th floor. Now listen to the conversation I had with the peon of that room.
Peon: Hello brother. Why are you here?
I: Ahh… to have our water line disconnected.
Peon: What have you done for it?
I: I’ve paid all the due bills, had its photocopy signed by the officer and then with an application I’m now submitting it here.
Peon: I see… But you will have to do one more thing. You will have to talk to our sir about it and satisfy him. I can help you in it. Otherwise your application won’t go to the next table. It will take you years to have the work done…
We didn’t pay the bribe. My mom said, “ Let them do it late. If we pay the bribe, they will get encouraged….”
Well, my mom was right. We had our work done but it took six more months and after these six months we received a due bill of 764TK. So I had to go through the same process in paying the due bill again.
Internet
We use dial-up connection. In our area there is no broadband connection. Per minute we have to pay 50paisa (1/2 Taka) from 8am to 11pm and the other time it is 30paisa per minute. So you see it takes me a lot to keep blogging. If our monthly Internet bill comes over 1,500TK it may get disconnected at any time without any notice and to have it re-connected is not so easy. I will have to go to Nanda Kanan Telephone office and on the 4th floor is the ‘Internet Section’. But for the sake of brevity I’m not talking about the process in which to get the Internet connection re-connected. But it’s quite the same as what I said about the water connection.
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Now lets talk about the gas connection. Just listen to the conversation I had with a employee of Bakhrabad Gas office.
I: We want to convert out 5 single gas burners into double burners. Can you tell me the procedure?
He: Okay, it’s easy. You will have to fill up this form. Pay 2000TK to the government for the approval to being this change and pay additional 2,500TK as ‘service charge’.
I: Why do I have to pay the 2000TK for?
He: Well. That’s the government law. For 5 burners 2000 taka.
I: And what this ‘service charge’ is for? Is it for to change the burners for us?
He: Yes. Quite like so.
I: But, I think we ourselves can change the burners. I myself have done it some times and it’s very easy. We don’t need government’s help for it.
He: Actually we don’t work for less than 2,500TK but I liked you much. You are like my younger brother. So just for you I will take 2000TK.
I: But… 2000TK is still too much. Besides we don’t need any servicing.
He: Okay... Okay…. kid. Don’t argue any more. I will take just 1,800TK from you. We never take so little as ‘service charge’. This is especially for you.
After this I gave him the money and he just signed in couple of pages and handed me a sheet and said, “It’s done. Now you can change your burners.”
Water Board
We weren’t getting water from the Government water pipe line for many months. So the other day I went to the WASA office to have it disconnected. There, on the ground floor I informed my problem at the ‘enquiry’. I was then told to go to the 5th floor and get the ‘due list’, if we have any bill unpaid. I went there and took the due list. There I was told to go to the 4th floor with the ‘due list’. After going there I was told to go to the first floor again because they don’t work for our area. Now after looking in several rooms I finally found the guy who works for our area. He told me to have a photocopy of the ‘due list’, go to his boss, have it signed and after paying the due bills go to the forth floor.
And like many government offices the lift of this building also doesn’t work properly to give the ordinary people proper exercise, I had a bit too much that day.
I did it as he said. But then found that it’s over 1pm. The office won’t work on any sort of things like this one. They have other better things to do. So I went to the office on the next day. I gave the application to an official on the 4th floor. Now listen to the conversation I had with the peon of that room.
Peon: Hello brother. Why are you here?
I: Ahh… to have our water line disconnected.
Peon: What have you done for it?
I: I’ve paid all the due bills, had its photocopy signed by the officer and then with an application I’m now submitting it here.
Peon: I see… But you will have to do one more thing. You will have to talk to our sir about it and satisfy him. I can help you in it. Otherwise your application won’t go to the next table. It will take you years to have the work done…
We didn’t pay the bribe. My mom said, “ Let them do it late. If we pay the bribe, they will get encouraged….”
Well, my mom was right. We had our work done but it took six more months and after these six months we received a due bill of 764TK. So I had to go through the same process in paying the due bill again.
Internet
We use dial-up connection. In our area there is no broadband connection. Per minute we have to pay 50paisa (1/2 Taka) from 8am to 11pm and the other time it is 30paisa per minute. So you see it takes me a lot to keep blogging. If our monthly Internet bill comes over 1,500TK it may get disconnected at any time without any notice and to have it re-connected is not so easy. I will have to go to Nanda Kanan Telephone office and on the 4th floor is the ‘Internet Section’. But for the sake of brevity I’m not talking about the process in which to get the Internet connection re-connected. But it’s quite the same as what I said about the water connection.
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