Employees and engineers of public sector power utilities from across the country will participate in ‘satyagraha’ at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi from August 3 to 6 to protest the Electricity (Amendment) Bill 2021.
The protest is being planned in response to a call given by the National Coordination Committee of Electricity Employees & Engineers (NCCOEEE) to register the strong opposition of the power sector employees and engineers against the new bill.
Secretary general of All India Power Engineers Federation and spokesperson of NCCOEEE P. Rathnakar Rao said the objective of their four-day protest is to highlight the issue to draw attention and support of people as well as all those opposing the Bill since the Centre had already made its intention clear that it would introduce it during the ongoing monsoon session of the Parliament and get it passed.
Mr. Rathnakar Rao said the Bill would not only deny energy at affordable price to the poor and middle class sections, deny free power to agriculture sector and job security to the employees as it would allow the entry of private sector into the distribution business, which was more profitable than generation and transmission.
He explained that employees and engineers of public sector power utilities of the Northern Region would participate in the satyagraha on the first day on August 3 followed by those from Eastern and North Eastern Region on August 4, from Western Region on August 5 and Southern Region on August 6.
Employees and engineers of the public sector power utilities across the country are agitating against the unilateral approach of the Centre to rush through the Bill in Parliament, Mr. Rao said adding that many provisions of the Bill are anti-people and anti-employee and if enacted it would have far-reaching adverse consequences.
He demanded that the Bill should not be passed in a haste and be referred to the Parliamentary standing committee on energy. Major stakeholders of the power sector – consumers and employees be given proper opportunity to express their view point on the Bill before placing it before Parliament, he suggested.
After the four-day satyagraha, about 1.5 million power employees and engineers would go on one day strike/work boycott on August 10 across the country and it would be advanced in case the Centre introduces the Bill before August 10, he noted.
