Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Dec 20: Several political leaders besides social/trade organizations have expressed concern over the acute power crisis and appealed both the Government as well as protesting electric employees to amicably settle the issue on priority as people have been suffering badly due to the ongoing strike of the power employees.
Expressing deep concern over the power crisis in most parts of J&K, newly appointed working president of JKPCC Raman Bhalla, chief spokesperson Ravinder Sharma, general secretaries Yogesh Sawhney and Thakur Manmohan Singh lashed out at the administration for total failure to deal with power and water crisis in entire UT. They termed it as worst ever crisis causing great hardships to all citizens and asked the Government to immediately resolve the issue and restore power and water supply without any delay.
National Conference today called out the Government for introducing privatization of power grid reforms through the backdoor, saying that there is no basis to rush through it without taking the concerned power employees and engineers on board. Party spokesperson Imran Nabi Dar said the Government should shun path of confrontation with protesting employees and put on hold the decision until a mutually acceptable decision is reached.
Former Minister and vice president JKPCC Mula Ram expressed his support to the demands of agitating PDD employees. He advised the UT Government to shun its stubbornness and solve the issue by considering the demands of the PDD employees as common masses are suffering badly due to total blackout and scarcity of drinking water in view of strike of PDD employees.
Expressing serious concern over the mounting power crisis in J&K, former Minister and senior vice president J&K Peoples Conference (JKPC) Abdul Gani Vakil urged the Government to look into the demands being raised by the PDD employees in order to end the prevalent stalemate. Vakil said the situation may turn more worrisome if immediate measures aren’t taken by the administration.
Prof Bhim Singh, president of J&K National Panthers Party urged for Presidential intervention to break the impasse between J&K administration and protesting power employees. He said there is no electricity available throughout J&K due to strike of power employees.
J&K High Court Bar Association, Jammu under the leadership of its president M K Bhardwaj (senior Advocate) held out a protest rally from District Court Complex, Janipur to main Janipur road, demanding restoration of power and water supply which have been severely affected due to the protest of electrical employees. The protesting Bar members said that calling Army for providing essential services to the people of jammu is utter failure of the administration.
President Janta Dal Secular J&K Mastnath Yogi appealed the Government to settle the issues of electric department employees amicably. He said employees should be taken into confidence before any decision is taken regarding their demands.
All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) expressed serious concern at the J&K authorities’ decision to privatize assets of the Power Development Department and merge it with the Power Grid Corporation of India. APHC extended its supports to the demands of PDD employees on strike and asked the authorities to desist from privatization policy and accept the demand of the striking employees.
District Development Committee (DDC) Member Suchetgarh, Taranjit Singh Tony while accusing the Govt of selling Power sector in the garb of bringing reforms in the system, asked the Govt to mitigate the power employees’ problems or else face a massive agitation by the civil society.
DDC member Suchetgarh Taranjit Singh Tony appealed the Lt Governor Manoj Sinha to consider all the demands of power employees without any further delay and mitigate their sufferings failing which he warned to launch a strong agitation to get their quite genuine demands addressed.
Neeraj Dewan general secretary PTU JKNPP said that administration is totally failed to handle the situation due to power crisis in J&K. He said that the Government was supposed to talk with employees of JKPDCL well in time but the Government didn’t pay heed to the sensitivity of the situation and as a result the common man is suffering.
Legal Cell Ikkjutt Jammu criticized the careless attitude of the J&K LG towards the supply of essential services in the UT. General secretary of the Cell Vishal Salaria (Advocate) pointed out that the dispute between the administration and JKPDD employees are causing inconvenience to public at large. He demanded resignation of the LG for its failure to provide essential services to the people.
Gurmeet Singh, president Baparmandal and general secretary DCC Jammu, Gurmeet Singh while extending his complete support to the peaceful and democratic protest of the power employees urged the Government to immediately initiate talks with the PDD employees and accept their genuine demands regarding salary and other pertinent issues.
Irked by people’s sufferings due to PDD employees’ strike, Chamber of Commerce and Industries (CCI) Jammu president Arun Gupta on behalf of the Chamber made a fervent appeal to the Union Territory Administration to resolve the genuine issues of the PDD employees at the earliest so that the normal power supply is restored.
At a time when the mercury has plummeted to a record low of -6 degrees Celsius in Jammu & Kashmir, thousands of employees of the Power Development Department (PDD) have shunned work over government plans to privatize grid stations plunging Jammu and Kashmir into crisis.
The workers of Dogra Front & Shiv Sena under the leadership of their president Ashok Gupta held a protest in Jammu city demanding an amicable solution to the current ongoing power crisis which has left the citizens of Jammu & Kashmir reeling under bone chilling cold.
A protect was held in Thannamandi by Trade Union for failure of Government in redressing the issue of employees of PDD. President of Traders Association Thannamandi Arshad Nawaz Khan said that Government is becoming deaf & dumb and public is suffering badly in cold shivering climate. He appealed the LG to intervene in the matter and resolve the issue in the larger interest of society.
Power Engineers and Employees Associations from all the states in the country under the banner of the National Co-ordination Committee of Electricity Employees & Engineers today send a memorandum to J&K LG extending support for the movement of J&K Power employees and requested for effectual intervention for immediate settlement of protesters’ genuine demands.
Joint Action Committee (JAC), an amalgam of various engineering graduate’s associations of civil, mechanical and electrical wings, today extends its support to the ongoing protest of the electrical engineers and urged upon the Government to consider the legitimate and genuine demands of the electrical engineers and employees in the interest of public service and deliverance.
All J&K Graduate Engineers Association Civil extended full support to striking PDD engineers and urged the Government to accede the demands of PDD employees. The Association held an online Central Body meeting under the leadership of Gopal Sharma (president) and in one voice appealed the Government to roll back the JV program of JKPTCL and de-link the salary of the employees from grant-in-aid to the regular budgetary provisions.
Employees Joint Action Committee (EJAC) president Fayaz Ahmad Shabnam said that the struggle of the protesting electric employees is genuine and the Government should not make it point of prestige rather show its magnanimity in resolving the issues. He said the Government should come with concrete proposals to settle the issues of these employees once for all.
UT president of JK Teachers Association (JKTA) Bhupinder Singh along with other members joined the ongoing protest of PDD employees at Jammu and urged upon the Government to shun egoist attitude and settle the genuine issues of PDD employees.
Municipal & Urban Local Bodies Pensioners’ Association (J&K) extended full support to the strike of PDD employees and urged upon the J&K LG to intervene into the matter personally and solve the issue at the earliest so that public may not suffer more.
President of All J&K Low Paid Employees Federation Abdul Majid Khan urged the UT administration to take immediate steps for settlement of the problems of the PDD employees.
Shri Amar Kshatriya Rajput Sabha J&K appealed the Government to concede the demands of striking employees/engineers of PDD to break the impasse and ameliorate the sufferings of common masses due to the strike.
Mission Statehood president Sunil Dimple today led a protest against the Government at New Plot (Jammu) over privatization of power grid stations. He extended his full support to the PDD employees on strike and urged the Government to solve the issues of employees at the earliest.
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