Northeast power employees extend support to UP counterparts’ protest
The Sangharsh Samiti has already announced a ‘Bijli Maha Panchayat’ in Meerut on March 24 and launched a mass outreach campaign on March 22-23 to mobilise consumers and farmers.
Power sector employees from eight northeastern states have extended their support to the ongoing protest by Uttar Pradesh electricity workers against privatisation.
“At a joint conference in Guwahati on Saturday, power employees of northeastern states passed a resolution opposing privatization and warned that if the government does not roll back its decision and continues to suppress employees, they will be forced to launch a protest in solidarity,” said Shailendra Dubey, chairman of All-India Power Engineers’ Federation and convenor of UP Vidyut Karmchari Sanyukt Sangharsh Samiti.
Meanwhile, the Sanyukt Sangharsh Samiti, has termed the bidding process for appointing a transaction consultant for the privatisation of Purvanchal and Dakshinanchal power distribution corporations as illegal and demanded its immediate cancellation.
The committee alleged that the bidding process was rigged, and key provisions related to the conflict of interest were deliberately removed, raising fears of a major scam in the privatization of electricity in 42 districts.
The Sangharsh Samiti has already announced a ‘Bijli Maha Panchayat’ in Meerut on March 24 and launched a mass outreach campaign on March 22-23 to mobilise consumers and farmers. Protests continued across the state, including in Varanasi, Agra, Meerut, Kanpur, Gorakhpur, Prayagraj, Bareilly, Mathura, Jhansi and other districts.