Powermen Protest: Electricity workers of UP to wear black armbands on New Year Day
Kanwar Inder singh/ royalpatiala.in News/ December 30,2024
Electricity workers will wear black bands on New Year Day in Uttar Pardesh on January 1, marking the first day of the New Year as Black Day. The decision was announced during a ‘Bijli Panchayat’ held in Jhansi .
Expressing faith in the Chief Minister, the Vidyut Karmachari Sanyukt Sangharsh Samiti accused the top management of Power Corporation of creating an environment of industrial unrest.
Shailendra Dubey convener Vidyut Karmachari Sanyukt Sangharsh Samiti said that there were 41 percent losses in the year 2016-17 which have come down to 17 percent in the year 2023-24. Electricity workers are determined to bring down the line losses to below 15 percent in the next one or two years.
There was a good work environment which has been spoiled by the Power Corporation management by suddenly announcing privatization. The Sangharsh Samiti said that distribution corporations incur losses as they provide electricity to domestic consumers at a price lower than the cost price. After privatization, electricity rates increase significantly.
It was also alleged in the Bijli Panchayat that the Chairman of the Power Corporation and the Managing Directors of Purvanchal and Paschimanchal, frustrated by their failures, are creating an atmosphere of fear by arbitrarily suspending and punishing people through video conferencing., which is a completely provocative step. If their arbitrariness is not curbed, there will be a sharp reaction and serious consequences.
Sangharsh Samiti, accused the power corporation’s top management of fuelling industrial unrest and attempting to transfer public assets to private entities at throwaway prices. The committee warned that privatisation would lead to a threefold increase in electricity tariffs.
Powermen Protest: Electricity workers of UP to wear black armbands on New Year Day. Moreover, the committee alleged that the privatisation draft includes leasing land owned by distribution corporations to private entities for just Rs.1 annually, along with transferring assets worth billions without appropriate valuation. They expressed hope that the CM would not approve such measures.
