A small tea stall in Fakirhat upazila of Bagerhat received an electricity bill of Tk 301,746 for the current month, leaving the owner, Apurba Kundu, and his family in shock.

Locals said the family has been running the tea stall at Lakhpur Bazar for years, using only two bulbs, a fan, and a refrigerator. Their usual monthly bill ranged between Tk 250 and Tk 500. Last month, an inflated bill of Tk 1,876 was issued but later corrected to Tk 316.

This month, after receiving the unusually high bill, the owner reported it to the electricity office. Officials later took back the bill and issued a corrected one of Tk 310.

Fakirhat Palli Bidyut Samity’s Deputy General Manager, Ananda Kumar Kundu, admitted it was due to a billing assistant’s mistake and confirmed the staff member had been served a show-cause notice.

Residents allege that such errors are frequent as bills are often prepared without checking meters properly. In December 2023, another tea stall owner in Bagerhat’s Boitpur village was billed Tk 1.38 million, while his actual bill was only Tk 162.

A massive fire broke out at the Eureka Filling Station near the RAOWA Club in Mohakhali, Dhaka, on Sunday evening (17 August). Several explosions were reported during the incident.

According to Shahjahan Shikder, officer of the Fire Service and Civil Defence media cell, 10 fire service units are working to bring the blaze under control. Eyewitnesses said the fire originated while fuel was being transferred from a tanker. Workers initially tried to douse the flames but failed as the fire spread rapidly.

No casualties have been reported immediately, though authorities fear significant property damage.