The J&K administration on Sunday called in the Army to ensure streamlined electricity supply for essential services in the Jammu division, in the wake of protests by the employees' umbrella organisation, Power Employees and Engineers Coordination Committee (PEECC), which is opposing the government move to privatise grid stations here.
Raghav Langer, Divisional Commissioner, Jammu, in a letter to the Defence Ministry on Sunday, said, “Due to strike by electric department personnel in the UT of J&K, essential services have been severely affected in the Jammu region. We would like to hereby requisition the Indian Army to assist in the restoration of the said essential services by provisioning manpower to man critical electricity stations and water supply sources.”
Officials said the Army was deployed at various power stations in the Jammu division. Earlier in the day, the Lieutenant Governor's administration failed to negotiate a settlement with the protesting employees, which, according to one estimate, affected 50% the population in the Union Territory.
"There have been rounds of talks at various levels with the Power Development Dept. (PDD) employees on indefinite strike. Power sector reforms are inevitable, as the Centre has directed us to ensure the same. Certain policy-related and service-related issues cannot be decided on the spot, it requires some time-frame and a joint working group," Mr. Langar said.
Around 20,000 employees, including the temporary and permanent daily labourers of the J&K Power Development Department, are protesting and many staying away from the work to protest against the move by the J&K Power Transmission Corporation Limited (JKPTCL) to privatize grid stations to the Power Grid Corporation of India.
“The protest program is in view of the unilateral move by the government to have a joint venture between the JKPTCL and the PGCIL, a huge step towards privatization without taking the employees on board. It's highly disappointing,” a protesting employee leader said. The employees were also demanding regularisation and promotion of the employees.
Normal life hit
Poor electricity supply impacted normal life in parts of Jammu and Kashmir divisions, hitting COVID-19 patients dependent on oxygen concentrators. Many locals sought help for patients on social media.
The outage and prolonged blackouts are taking place at a time when the Kashmir valley is reeling under a cold wave with temperatures dipping to 6 degrees below zero.
J&K Apni Party president Altaf Bukhari said such arbitrary decisions have always resulted in causing inconvenience to the local populace of J&K. “Various hospitals in J&K possess minimal electrical back-up support and in absence of the requisite power supplies, it may give rise to an unprecedented emergency situation,” he said.
National Conference vice-president Omar Abdullah said the J&K administration may be able to claim the constitutional authority to privatise the assets of J&K but it completely lacks the political authority. “Decisions of this nature with far reaching consequences should be left to an elected government,” Mr. Abdullah said.
Meanwhile, the Congress has supported the protesting employees .
