J&K admin seeks Army's help to restore electricity in Jammu as strike leads to outages

J&K admin seeks Army's help to restore electricity in Jammu as strike leads to outages

The J&K administration has sought help from the Army to restore power in Jammu after employees went on strike over a proposal to privatise the electricity department.

Over 20,000 power sector employees had boycotted work around midnight on Friday in support of their various demands.

 

Divisional Commissioner of Jammu has sought help from the Indian Army to restore electricity in the division.

Several districts of J&K plunged into darkness after power department engineers went on strike on Saturday over the administration's plan to privatise the power sector in the Union Territory. Officials from the J&K administration on Sunday evening held talks with representatives of engineers who went on strike.

 

However, the talks failed to yield any results.

Now, keeping in view the hardships being faced by the people, the civil administration has sought the help of the Army to restore power supply in J&K. Teams of Army engineers have also started arriving at grid/power stations in many areas of J&K, particularly in Jammu.

 

The letter by the Divisional Commissioner on Sunday read, "It is to bring to your notice that due to a strike by Electricity Department personnel in UT of J&K, essential services have been severely affected in the region."

"We would hereby require the Indian army in restoring the essential services," the letter went on to add.

 

Protests over electricity blackout

Angry residents of Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday staged protests over a total blackout in several parts of the UT, as the strike by power department employees against privatisation and other issues entered its second day despite the administration’s request to resume work, officials said.

 

Over 20,000 power sector employees had boycotted work around midnight on Friday in support of their various demands, including shelving of a proposed joint venture between the Jammu and Kashmir Power Transmission Corporation Limited and the Power Grid Corporation of India Limited.

 

The employees, from all unions and associations, from linemen to senior engineers, decided to go on an indefinite strike after failure of talks with the government, and staged demonstrations in the twin capital cities and in the district headquarters for the second day on Sunday, a spokesperson of the coordination committee of power supply employees said.

Officials said many parts of the Union Territory witnessed a total blackout due to the ongoing strike, as a result of which people are facing tremendous hardships due to non-availability of electricity and water supply, leading to protests by angry residents in Jammu city and other districts who are reeling under severe cold wave conditions.

The spokesperson said they had presented a four-point formula to the J&K administration, but it failed to accept their demands, including a white paper on non-fulfillment of the recommendations of the unbundling report and the failure to create positions as mandated by the committee at gazetted and non-gazetted levels, regularisation of daily wagers and all power development department engineers.

They are also demanding delinking their salary from grant-in-aid and releasing a regular budget for all PDD employees on deputation to different corporations and a white paper of service condition of PDD employees on deputation to the Chenab Valley Power Projects Private Limited (CVPPL) and similarly situated employees deputed from the NHPC.

An official spokesman said the government of J&K, taking a sympathetic view of the issues raised, has engaged in several rounds of talks with the coordination committee of the power employees.

“During each round of talks, the government representatives have appealed to the power employees to call off their strike as people in both Jammu and Kashmir divisions are suffering. In the wake of Covid-19 contagion and nail-biting cold in both the divisions, the coordination committee of the power employees is requested to end its strike,” the spokesman said.

Reacting to the situation, Union minister Jitendra Singh expressed hope of a peaceful resolution to the issue at the earliest.

“The administration is on the job and time cannot be stopped as we have to keep pace with development in the rest of the country. The employees are part of society and if they feel insecure, it is the responsibility of the rulers to address their concerns and move forward along with them,” he told reporters here.

National Conference vice president and former chief minister Omar Abdullah asked the government to leave privatisation decisions to an elected government.

“The J&K administration may be able to claim the constitutional authority to privatise the assets of J&K, but it completely lacks the political authority. Decisions of this nature with far-reaching consequences should be left to an elected government,” he wrote on Twitter.

The striking employees have made it clear that the repairs and restoration work would not be undertaken at all unless the feeder is supplied to any hospital.

Senior BJP leader and former legislator Devender Singh Rana also expressed concern over many parts of Jammu city and the peripheries plunging into darkness and urged the administration to take earnest measures in resolving the issues with the striking employees, especially during these chilly days.

He hoped that all concerned would act responsibly as the stakes are very high, not only in terms of restoring electricity in the affected areas, but also to ensure that students do not suffer as they are solely dependent on online classes and examinations.

 

“Failure in the power supply is impacting internet services,” he added.

Jammu and Kashmir Apni Party president Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari also expressed serious concerns over the indefinite strike in opposition to a government decision that intends to privatise grid stations.

“Over 20,000 electrical employees are currently on strike due to which numerous areas across J&K are facing prolonged power blackouts and lingering essential repair work. All of this is happening in the harsh cold winter season which is exponentially adding to the existing woes of the public,” he observed.

 

Bukhari demanded that the government should review its decision at the earliest to resolve this deadlock with the concerned employee's association in order to avoid further inconvenience to the people.