Bhubaneswar: Five thousand electrical engineers and workers of the Odisha government's department of energy held a rally on Wednesday to protest against the proposed privatisation of state-run companies and attempts by the Centre to get the Electricity (Amendment) Bill, 2014, passed in Parliament.
The employees, under Joint Forum of Odisha Electricity Employees and Engineers, walked from Railway Station Square to Lower PMG Square and submitted a 16-point charter of demands addressed to chief minister Naveen Patnaik with the chief minister's office and to Prime Minister Narendra Modi through governor S.C. Jamir.
"The Electricity (Amendment) Bill, 2014, has a section on privatisation of the sector. It pushes the power sector to further operational and financial disaster and victimise both the employees and the consumers. We oppose this move and submitted our demand to the chief minister and the Prime Minister through the governor," said the forum's general secretary Bramha Prakash Paital.
The protesters demanded, among others, fast implementation of the Seventh Pay Commission, review of the Odisha Electricity Reforms Act, 1995, promotions for clerical and technical employees, review of electricity theft policy, and introduction of special pay structures for the employees.
Paital said they would look at how the government responded and decide on their future course of action in April.
"We are in favour of benefits for consumers and also our employees. Our demands are genuine and we hope that the government will realise it on time," he said.
The protest by electricity employees triggered fears of power disruption during the summer. "Odisha is one of the major power generating states. I have no idea why the government is in favour of privatisation. This will raise electricity bills," said social worker Alok Mohanty.
A senior official of the energy department, however, told The Telegraph that they would take steps only for the benefit of people.
"We are not acting against anyone, but are doing what is right. However, we will look into the demands of the employees and take necessary action to resolve those," said the official.
