PUDUCHERRY: The employees of Puducherry Electricity Department (PED) began their indefinite strike on Tuesday in protest against the Centre's move to privatise power distribution and transmission in Puducherry. Around 2,000 workers joined the strike across the Union Territory.
They say the protest will continue till Chief Minister N Rangasamy and Power Minister A Namassivayam withdraw the privatisation move. Responding to the strike-call given by Electricity Engineers and Employees Privatisation Protest Committee (EEEPPC), workers in all the four regions have halted work in all PED offices, sub-stations and installations. After police prevented employees from assembling at the Head Office in Puducherry, they assembled at the Sonampalayam Junction, near the Head Office.
Trade union leaders of power sector employees from Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu arrived in the morning to join the protest. Led by C Arul Murugan, EEEPPC President and P Velmurugan, General Secretary, protesters condemned the Union BJP government as well as the AINRC led-NDA government in Puducherry for supporting the Centre.
According to the workers, "We have been appointed as government employees and we want to retire as government employees. There will be no compromise on that." The employees will not attend to any problems, participate in bill collections and also will not be responsible for the consequences, they added. If the government takes action including evoking provisions of the Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA), the EEEPCC leaders asserted they were ready to face consequences.
Meanwhile, police personnel have been deployed at all offices and installations of the PED to prevent unlawful activities.
Opposition holds demonstration in Puducherry against privatisation of power sector
The Opposition parties, led by DMK, organised a demonstration at Anna Salai on Tuesday, demanding the government withdraw its move to privatise the Union Territory's power sector.
Former Chief Minister and Senior Congress leader V Narayanasamy contended that privatisation of the PED -- involved in power transmission and distribution -- will affect all sections of society. He added that instead of remaining silent, Chief Minister N Rangasamy must write to the Central government. During his tenure, Narayanasamy said, a resolution -- against the privatisation move -- had been adopted in Assembly, which Rangasamy and Power minister A Namassivayam supported then.
Meanwhile, power outages occurred in isolated areas in Puducherry, including parts of Solai Nagar and Busy Street, leading to public protests.
The Opposition also called on Puducherry Lt Governor Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan on Tuesday and submitted a memorandum on the matter.
Former Minister SP Sivakumar of DMK, PCC president and former Minister AV Subramanian, CPI State Secretary AM Saleem, CPM District Secretary R Rajangam and VCK leader Devapozhilan met the L-G. They pointed out the disadvantages of privatisation of the power sector, which makes profit in the UT, and urged the government to drop the move, Rajangam told mediapersons.
On the other hand, BJP State President V Swaminathan said, the privatisation in Puducherry will be good for the people. Citing the case of Delhi, he said while the capital is not under BJP rule (but under AAP government), privatisation of power has benefited society.