The Mangalore Electricity Supply Company (Mescom), facing severe staff crunch, is planning to recruit nearly 2,500 personnel soon. Out of 6,413 sanctioned posts in the company, 2,745 posts were vacant as of September 30.
More than 42 per cent of the sanctioned posts with Mescom have been vacant for several months, severely crippling the services being offered by the company. Mescom caters to the energy requirements of people in the districts of Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, Shivamogga and Chikkamagaluru.
Sources in the power supply company told The Hindu that Mescom was in the process of filling 316 posts of assistant linemen and station attendants — 151 linesmen with ITI, 150 linemen with ITC, 15 station attendants with ITI/ITC qualifications and 55 assistant/junior engineers. The company is also planning to recruit more than 2,000 junior linemen and would soon invite applications for the posts, sources said.
During the company’s recruitment process to fill 346 posts of assistant linemen in March this year, only 125 posts were filled.
Field staff shortageMescom is severely short of men in the field — linemen and mechanics. For 3,434 sanctioned posts, only 1,593 people are working, a shortage of 53 per cent.
Catering mainly to hilly terrain with forests in its jurisdiction, services of Mescom were found wanting regularly, especially during the monsoon. Complaints of linesmen not attending to snapping of power lines due to falling of trees and similar reasons had been frequent from the customers.
The company is, however, a little more comfortable when it comes to junior engineers and secretarial staff. Out of 2,448 sanctioned posts, only 662 are vacant.
In Group B posts, including assistant engineers and assistant accounts officers, only 89 are working as against sanctioned posts of 290, a shortage of 69 per cent.
Group A posts, comprising Assistant Executive Engineers to Chief Engineers and Accounts Officers to Financial Advisors, are relatively filled, with only 41 posts remaining vacant out of 241 sanctioned posts.
