As several parts of Chandigarh faced power outage on Tuesday, following a call for a 72-hour long strike by the electricity employees, the Punjab and Haryana High Court took suo motu cognisance of the situation and observed that the disruption of electricity supply can cause irrevocable damage.
The U.T. Powermen Union started the strike on Monday night, protesting against the privatisation of the UT Electricity Department.
As the High Court took cognisance of the situation, Justice Ajay Tewari and Justice Pankaj Jain said: “In the circumstances, we are constrained to take up this matter on the judicial side and have consequently requested the senior standing counsel of Chandigarh to apprise us of the arrangements the administration is making to ensure that undue hardship is not caused to the residents of the city.”
Act of sabotage
Appraising the court, Anil Mehta, the senior standing counsel, said the power failure is on account of acts of sabotage by the striking employees. He added that a request was made by the UT administration to get officials from Punjab and Haryana to tide over this crisis and the latest information he has received is that Punjab has expressed its inability to send any person on deputation.
The Bench said that the court cannot be oblivious that disruption of electricity supply is not only affecting the ordinary residents but may affect institutions like hospitals where patients may be on ventilators and other life support systems. “Apart from that, there are online examinations and classes which students are taking. In many cases, the virtual hearing has been disrupted in this court also because lawyers are not able to appear due to the fact that there is no electricity in their offices. In such situations, the disruption of power supply can cause irrevocable damage,” the court said.
It asked Chandigarh’s Chief Engineer to appear before it on Wednesday. to apprise the court about the measures taken to alleviate this crisis.
Chandigarh administrator Dharam Pal, meanwhile, under the East Punjab Essential Services (Maintenance) Act, 1968, issued orders prohibiting strike in the employment of Engineering Department (Electricity Wing) by any of their employees with immediate effect for a period of six months.
Chandigarh administrator Dharam Pal, meanwhile, under the East Punjab Essential Services (Maintenance) Act, 1968, issued orders prohibiting strike in the employment of Engineering Department (Electricity Wing) by any of their employees with immediate effect for a period of six months.
