Power supply is likely to hit as around 5,000 employees of Jharkhand Urja Vikas Nigam limited ( JUVNl) has decided to go on a three-day strike from tomorrow in support of the their demands.
Under the banner Jharkhand Rajya Bijli Kamgar Union, the largest affiliated union of power employees, the agitation is likely to affect railways, coal mines, small/ big industries and domestic consumers. The strike also hit JUVNl’s revenue collection that gains momentum during the last week of every month. The union has 22-point charter of demands.
State general secretary of the union Ram Krishna Singh said that they decided to go on strike as JUVNl failed to respond to their demands.
“We have been receiving assurances but no step has been taken. Earlier, we had called the strike on August 9 but it was deferred till September 26. We were expecting a call from JUVNl authorities for talks on our demands but now we are adamant,” said Singh.
According to the senior functionary of the union the areas which would be affected includes Dhanbad, Jamshedpur, Daltonganj, Hazaribagh, Bokaro, Ramgarh, Garhwa and Santhal Pargana regions.
In Jamshedpur, the members of union today staged a protest at the JUVNl office at AIADA Bhawan in Adityapur and also submitted a memorandum with the office of the general manager of JUVNl’s Singhbhum electricity supply area in Bistupur.
“The employees are suffering in the hands of JUVNl and the state government due to their negligence. The most important demand is that of clearing of outstanding overtime dues to employees of the last five years,” said Singh.
“ The situation will paralyse if the employees go on strike. Though we have not received any formal information from the JUVNl headquarters but we will ensure that some alternate arrangements are made to ensure that power supply is not hampered,” noted an official.