E-Paper
U.P. power men protest in solidarity with Puducherry peers
The power men opposed the privatisation bid in Puducherry and warned against any such attempt in U.P.
Uttar Pradesh power personnel organised state-wide protests, expressing solidarity with their Puducherry counterparts, on Saturday. Electricity department staff in Puducherry is on strike against the move to privatise electricity distribution in the Union Territory.
Apart from holding protests at the power thermal plants, a large number of employees held a meeting in the Field Hostel here, to oppose the privatisation bid in Puducherry and warned against any such attempt in U.P.
The All-India Power Engineers Federation (AIPEF) chairman Shailendra Dubey said that a request for proposal (RFP) was issued on September 27 to start the bidding process for the privatisation of Puducherry Electricity department. In protest, the department workers and engineers resorted to an indefinite strike from September 28.
He claimed that the electricity department of Puducherry was running in profit and the power losses there were only 11.5% which was less than the 15% norm set by the central government.
Dueby said that the Central government issued the draft standard bidding document for privatisation in September 2020. “The question arises on what basis the entire electricity department is being privatised without finalising the standard bidding document,” he questioned.
He demanded the proposal of privatisation of Puducherry electricity department be cancelled and the RFP documents issued for privatisation be withdrawn.
