The power employees’ Joint Action Committee (JAC) has given a call for boycott of work on Tuesday in protest against privatisation of power distribution in seven districts.
The JAC charged the UP Power Corporation limited management with forcing a confrontation with the power employees unions by it stubborn stance on this issue.
JAC convenor Shailendra Dubey said in lucknow on Monday that thermal power generation units and power transmission sub-stations of 760 KV and 400 KV had been exempted from the boycott. He said that transmission sub-stations had also been exempted from the boycott to prevent power grid failure.
Dubey said that power distribution units in lucknow, Gorakhpur, Meerut, Varanasi and Moradabad were earning profits, yet the government was adamant on privatising them.
He said that power distribution in Agra was given to a private company in 2009 and in the last 10 years, the UPPCl had incurred a loss of over Rs 1,000 crore.
Dubey said that power employees unions would reach out to the people and involve power consumers in their agitation against privatisation of power distribution in seven districts.
He said that the JAC and consumer bodies had decided to rope in the general public in their agitation.
The JAC also criticised the UPPCl management for forcing the lucknow Electricity Supply Administration (lESA) staff to restore power supply to all government guest houses and departments, where agitating engineers disconnected connections for non-payment of arrears on Saturday.
“We will now take the common man on board in our fight against privatisation of power distribution,” Vidhyut Karmachari Sanyukt Sangharsh Samiti leader Rajiv Kumar Singh said on Monday.
He said that power employees had decided not to disconnect power supply of small private consumers for dues unless the UPPCl withdrew its orders for restoration of supply to government departments.
Singh alleged that the government wanted to hand over power distribution in seven cities to some private companies. “Everything is pre-scripted and this is why the franchisee proposal was not put before the UPPCl board of directors for its approval,” he said.