Army operates power stations in J&K; ‘total breakdown of governance’, says Omar

Indian Army troops have been called in due to a strike by the employees of Jammu and Kashmir power development department. The J&K administration's decision to privatise the department’s assets and proposal to merge it into the Power Grid Corporation of India has irked the employees.

The soldiers of Indian Army were deployed at power stations in Jammu to restore electricity supply in various parts of the union territory. This has been done on the request of Jammu and Kashmir’s power development department (PDD), which is grappling with an indefinite strike by the employees since Friday night.

The Indian Army has deployed its troops at main power stations in Jammu and Kashmir to restore power supply. (ANI Photo)

The PDD employees and Jammu and Kashmir administration are at loggerheads over the latter’s decision to privatise the department’s assets and proposal to merge J&K PDD into the Power Grid Corporation of India.

The strike and the administration’s intransigence have put thousands of J&K residents to extreme hardships amid bone chilling temperatures and Covid-19 pandemic as hundreds of patients are struggling to keep on to their oxygen concentrators.

The Jammu and Kashmir administration held talks with the protesting employees but the deadlock still continues.

“The Government has already agreed on two of their major demands -putting on hold the proposal for formation of JV(joint venture) and ensuring delay in salary is immediately resolved,” said official Twitter handle of Department of Information and Public Relations, Govt of Jammu & Kashmir, urging the employees call off their strike as people in both Jammu and Kashmir divisions are suffering.

The strike has plunged large swathes of the union territory into darkness amid the chilling temperatures as the employees refuse to rectify any faults, Hindustan Times reported on Saturday.

Political parties have heavily criticised the Jammu and Kashmir administration for its “incompetence” and inconvenience people have been facing.

“The army has been called to operate the power infrastructure in Jammu division of J&K. There no bigger admission of failure for a civilian administration than to call upon the army, it means a total breakdown of governance has been accepted by the J&K government,” National Conference leaders Omar Abdullah said in a tweet.