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Punjab

Protesting UT power men not allowed to proceed to Governor House

VINOD GUPTA | April 07, 2021 04:03 PM

CHANDIGARH: The electricity employees of UT Chandigarh under the banner ofUT Power men union held a massive demonstration outside sector office and marched towards governor house to submit a memorandum against the privatization of UT Electricity Department. The protest march was stopped by the police by putting barricades in sector 17 and the employees were manhandled by the police . The employees continued to protest on the road.

The protest rally was addressed by the representatives of Residen Welfare Federation, central trade union leaders, and farmers' organisations and UT subordinate services Federation and others.
The various speakers criticised the sale of the profit-making Chandigarh electricity department to the private sector. The department is making over 365 crores profit annually and the government wants to sell it at Rs 174 crores.
The other speakers of political parties and resident welfare associations said that the department is providing 24X7 uninterrupted power supply to its consumer. There is no reason to sell the 100% share of the department to a private business house.

Gopal Dutt Joshi General Secretary said that there will be a complete strike on April 20 against the privatization of the electricity department.

All India Power Engineers Federation (AIPEF) strongly oppose the Union government’s decision to privatize electricity distribution in Chandigarh bypassing public opinion. The profit-making department is the best-managed department amongst all the union territories. Last year the transmission line loss was 9.51% and is best amongst the country. The central government is grossly misleading the public by saying that the electricity will be cheaper after privatization.

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