SRINAGAR: The strike by the electricity department employees in Jammu and Kashmir entered its second day on Sunday, leaving people stranded in the bitter cold for a long time and the fault was not repaired.
The crisis has deepened so much that Jammu Divisional Commissioner Raghav Langer has written to the Indian Army for assistance, as essential services are getting affected due to lack of electricity.
On Sunday, complaints were made all over the valley regarding unresolved power failures. People took to the streets in Nowshera area of Srinagar. The strike was called off only after the intervention of the police. There has been a power outage in the area since Saturday afternoon.
“Despite repeated requests to do so, no one from the electricity department came to restore power,” said a local.
Similarly, there were complaints of power shutdown in Bemina as well. Power was cut in the area on Saturday and it was not restored, leaving people facing cold.
Over 20,000 employees of the department are on strike against the government’s privatization plan. He had, inter alia, warned that in case of any disturbance, he would not restore power in the Lt Governor’s office and other VVIP offices as well.
According to a statement issued to the media, a call for boycott of work was given from December 17 to 18.
Employees body asks government to put on hold the proposal of JKPTCL with PGCIL, issue a white paper on non-compliance of recommendations of ‘Unbundling Report’, create mandatory posts in gazetted and non-committee Is. Gazetted level, regularization of PDL/TDL, DPC of non-gazetted employees, regularization of all PDD engineers etc.
It has also asked Grant in Aid to segregate their salaries and release a regular budget for all PDD employees on deputation to various corporations.
Apart from the demands, people are facing problems in the bitter cold. Electricity is a main source of heating to beat the cold. When it stops, people have to use old methods to burn and heat their homes. The lives of patients on oxygen support are at risk.
Power was cut in Ratnipora area of Pulwama for over 13 hours until the sarpanch warned in writing that he would not be responsible if there was any damage to the power infrastructure in public anger. A local said that people reached out to the higher officials of the department but they did not listen.
Majid Munshi, convener of the Jammu and Kashmir Power Engineers and Employees Coordination Committee (JKPEECC), did not respond to this newspaper’s request to answer questions. A senior official of the electricity department told Kashmir Reader that the government has accepted most of the demands, but the employees are demanding it in writing from the secretariat.
