Bangladesh, Oct. 16 -- Many low-income families in Dhaka's slums cook their meals on electric heaters wired to power lines run by local syndicates, many of which operate by bending the rules. Buy Maps

The syndicates are allowed to serve only a set number of households, locals say, but they sometimes connect five to ten times that number illegally.

A spot investigation by The Financial Express writer found many families across the city's slums depend on these unauthorised providers because they have no direct, formal power connections.

In many households visited in Mirpur-11's Bihari Camp, people were using electric heaters of varying wattage.

Thirty-year-old Maleka Begum ( not real name), a domestic worker of a slum located in Bihari...