27 Lakh Power Sector Employees To Hold Nationwide Strike On 9 July Over UP Govt's Move To Privatise Two Discoms

(MENAFN- Live Mint) More than 27 lakh power sector employees will observe a day-long nationwide strike on 9 July in protest against the Uttar Pradesh government's decision to privatise two discoms in the state.

Shailendra Dubey, chairman of the All India Power Engineers' Federation (AIPEF), said on Wednesday that the state government has decided to privatise Purvanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam Ltd (PVVNL) and Dakshinanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam Ltd (DVVNL), which cover 42 of the state's 75 districts.

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"On the call of the umbrella body, National Coordination Committee of Electricity Employees and Engineers (NCCOEEE), power employees, junior engineers, and engineers across the country have staged massive demonstrations against the privatisation of the discoms," he said.

Dubey added that the umbrella body has now called for a massive protest on July 9 by 27 lakh power employees opposing the privatisation of the two UP discoms.

Demonstrations will mainly be held in Hyderabad, Thiruvananthapuram, Vijayawada, Chennai, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Nagpur, Raipur, Bhopal, Jabalpur, Vadodara, Rajkot, Guwahati, Shillong, Kolkata, Bhubaneswar, Patna, Ranchi, Srinagar, Jammu, Shimla, Dehradun, Patiala, Jaipur, Kota, Hisar, and Lucknow.

The strike on such a large scale may also affect the power supply across the country.

"We will not be responsible if power supply is affected," Dubey warned.

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The power sector employees' union alleged that the Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Ltd and certain senior state government officials are colluding with selected private players. They accused them of attempting to sell discom assets worth crores of rupees to private companies at throwaway prices.

The AIPEF chairman said that if the discoms are privatised, farmers and economically weaker sections will be deprived of several benefits.

Earlier in June, the Uttar Pradesh government invoked provisions of the Uttar Pradesh Essential Services Maintenance Act, 1966 (U.P. ESMA), prohibiting strikes in the electricity department for a period of six months.

A notification to this effect was issued by the government.

According to the notification, the strike ban covers all services under the following entities: Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Ltd. (UPPCL); Uttar Pradesh Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Ltd. (UPRVUNL); Uttar Pradesh Power Transmission Corporation Ltd. (UPPTCL); Kanpur Electricity Supply Company Ltd. (KESCO); Madhyanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam Ltd. (MVVNL); Purvanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam Ltd. (PuVVNL); Paschimanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam Ltd. (PVVNL); Dakshinanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam Ltd. (DVVNL); UP Renewable and EV Infrastructure Ltd.

The press release noted that the decision was taken to ensure an uninterrupted power supply and prevent any disruption in essential electricity-related services across the state.

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