LUCKNOW Amid mounting public anger, protests and political pressure over prolonged power cuts in the state capital, the Madhyanchal Vidyut Vitaran Nigam (MVVNL) has initiated a major administrative reshuffle, transferring many engineers and technical staff in an attempt to restore normal electricity supply in Lucknow.
The action comes after repeated demonstrations and road blockades in many parts of the city over erratic power supply. Two junior engineers (JEs), two sub-divisional officers (SDOs) and executive engineers have been shifted, while the Madhyanchal administration has also transferred 44 technicians to strengthen the collapsing distribution system in the city.
LESA (Lucknow central) chief engineer Ravi Agarwal said transfers are routine and nothing should be read between the lines.
However, the transfers have triggered resentment among power engineers and employees, who argue that field staff are being made scapegoats for a larger structural failure within the electricity distribution system.
The Vidyut Karamchari Sanyukt Sangharsh Samiti, the umbrella body representing power employees, alleged that the real crisis lies in poor planning, severe manpower shortages and the controversial “vertical restructuring” model introduced by top management and bureaucrats without adequately assessing its ground level impact.
Engineers questioned why action was being taken only against field officers while those responsible for implementing the restructuring model were escaping accountability.
{{/usCountry}}Engineers questioned why action was being taken only against field officers while those responsible for implementing the restructuring model were escaping accountability.
{{/usCountry}}“Transfers are not the solution. The focus should be on strengthening infrastructure and preparing for future demand,” power employees said, pointing out that demand in Lucknow has been rising by nearly 20 to 25% every year while infrastructure expansion has failed to keep pace.
Shailendra Dubey, convenor of Vidyut Karmchari Sanyukt Sangharsh Samiti, said: “Instead of increasing manpower during peak summer months, authorities had sharply reduced the number of contractual workers. According to the Sangharsh Samiti, nearly 40% of contractual staff in Lucknow have been cut this year despite record electricity demand and increasing load on the network.”
The union said employees were being forced to work round-the-clock under extreme pressure, with rising faults, overloaded feeders and inadequate resources leading to frequent accidents and even deaths among electricity workers.
Dubey also sharply criticised the “vertical system” introduced in the power department, under which maintenance, supply, billing and metering operations for 11 KV and 33 KV systems have been separated into different units. According to engineers, the restructuring has fragmented accountability, delayed fault resolution and created confusion among consumers about whom to approach during outages.
Officials acknowledged that the power network in Lucknow was under severe stress due to rising consumption and insufficient manpower. Large number of personnel had earlier been shifted out of Lucknow to other districts, but authorities are now re-deploying technicians from places such as Bareilly and Badaun back to Lucknow to stabilise the system.