Tehri strike may cripple Delhi

The strike by Tehri Hydro Development Corporation officers would affect power supply and water supply in the capital, reports Utpal Parashar.

Nearly 600 officers of the Tehri Hydro Development Corporation (THDC), the PSU responsible for constructing and operating the 2,400 MW project, went on strike on Wednesday, demanding better wages.

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Officers at Tehri, Rishikesh, Noida, Dehradun, Pipalkoti and Koteshwar abstained from work, reiterating their demand for payscales on par with National Hydro Power Corporation officials.

Although engineers went to work at the 1,000 MW first stage of the project, they joined the striking officers at noon. Sources said that if talks between the THDC management and officers’ association fail, they would not rejoin duty.

If that happens, power generation would come to a standstill and supply to the northern grid as well as the nine other northern states would be affected. Water supply to Delhi and western UP is also likely to stop if the strike continues.

“We have been forced to resort to strike as the THDC management and the Union Power Ministry have failed to fulfill promises of increasing our salaries,” said Ramesh Unniyal, General Secretary, THDC Officers Association.

When THDC was formed, officers in the corporation had pay scales similar to colleagues at National Thermal Power Corporation, but now their salaries are much lower.

“The officers have a genuine grievance and we support them wholeheartedly. It’s a shame that despite assurances by the Union Power Minister, their demands have not yet been fulfilled,” said Kishore Upadhyay, Congress MLA from Tehri.