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CM Saini to meet unions amid strike by employees of state-owned power companies
Power outages were reported as employees went on strike against distribution licence to a private firm
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Chief minister Nayab Singh Saini has called a meeting in Panchkula on Friday with representatives of the four unions amid a three-day strike by employees of state-owned power distribution companies against the Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission (HERC)’s order granting a 25-year parallel distribution licence to a private company in Gurugram and Nuh.
Power outages were reported across Haryana, including Gurugram, as striking employees of Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam Limited (DHBVNL) and Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam Limited did not undertake repair work, or feeder cables were shut down.
The two companies supply power to southern and northern Haryana. The striking employees have either turned off their phones or stopped attending to calls from residents to restore the power supply.
A DHBVNL official said the meeting was called as Saini does not want the common people to suffer due to the strike. “The representatives of the unions will attend the meeting in Panchkula, following which the further situation on the strike will become clear,” he said.
Haryana Power Engineers Association general secretary Ravinder Ghanghas confirmed that they received a message from the state government on Friday morning for the meeting.
“We are waiting for the confirmation on the time of the meeting, which is expected to take place in the PWD guesthouse in Panchkula. It may take place any time before or after lunch,” he said. He added that the course of their strike will depend on the meeting outcome.
Haryana energy minister Anil Vij said the government is ready to discuss all options. He appealed to the employees to end the strike and return to duty as people took to the streets in Gurugram, Faridabad and other places against the outages, which left many with no water.
Vij said the options include action under Section 108 of the Electricity Act, 2003, which empowers the Haryana government to issue written policy directions to the HERC on matters related to public interest. The government can override the HERC’s order granting the parallel-distribution licence to the private firm, energy department officials said.
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