Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Aug 24: Power Employees Coordination Committee (PEEC) has urged upon the Lt Governor, Manoj Kumar Sinha to bring Power employees under Covid insurance cover of Rs 50 lakh like Health employees.
Addressing joint press conference senior members of the PECC including Jaipal Sharma, Sachin Tickoo, Ajaz Kazmi, Sanjeev Bali and others while expressing deep grief and shock over the sad demise of Purshotam Kumar, Feeder Manager of Shastri Nagar Sub Division, JPDCL Jammu due to COVID-19, while he was performing his duties of maintaining uninterrupted power supply throughout the testing times amidst COVID. PECC has time and again brought to the notice of administration and the policy makers that there is an urgent need to bring the Power employees under the ambit of Covid-19 life insurance security initiated by the Government in favour of heath, sanitation, police workers.
Due to the non- existence of the policy of insurance for the Power Sector employees, they have been left in lurch and their families have been put to social risk because of no guarantee is being offered against their lives being sacrificed to COVID in these testing times. The Government needs to treat the power sector employees fairly as they are running power 24×7 in all the areas irrespective of whether it is a red zone or a green zone. Electricity of all hospitals, Covid care centers, quarantine centers and all the residential areas are being manned in all circumstances. It is hard to imagine any service without electricity and work of Power employees has been recognised by the society in the time of crisis.
The ignorance of the Government in respect of the non- coverage of the PDD employees tantamount to demeaning the sacrifice of the Covid warriors, the PDD workers and leaving the large section of society in a very vulnerable condition.
PECC appealed to Lt Governor to intervene and take notice of the aforesaid loss of life and issue instructions for giving compensation to the family of the deceased and further bring the employees of PDD under the ambit of the coverage of the COVID-19 insurance to instill the confidence among the staff.