Report by Kamgar Ekta Committee (KEC) correspondent
A Bijli Panchayat was organized against privatization of electricity department of Chandigarh on 25th December in Chandigarh under the banner of National Coordination Committee of Electricity Employees and Engineers (NCCOEEE). Apart from thousands of electricity employees of Chandigarh, consumers, farmers and public representatives were present in the. Mayor of Chandigarh, several councillors, top leaders of political parties, officials of all trade unions also attended the Panchayat. Hundreds of employees from Haryana, Himachal, Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir also participated in the Panchayat and raised their voice against privatization.
The Panchayat was presided over by UT Power Man Union President Amrik Singh and addressed by Shailendra Dubey, Chairman, All India Power Engineers Federation (AIPEF), Padamjit Singh, Chief Patron of AIPEF, Subhash Lamba of Electricity Employees Federation of India (EEFI), Chandigarh Mayor Kuldeep Kumar Tita, Congress President Harmohinder Singh Lucky, R.K. Sharma, Devendra Kumar, Gurpreet Singh Gandi, Suresh Rathi, Heera Lal Verma and others.
Shailendra Dubey said that the UP government has also decided to hand over Purvanchal and Dakshinanchal Discom to private hands against which the electricity employees and engineers of UP are fighting strongly.
National Vice President of Electricity Employees Federation of India Subhash Lamba announced that the fight against privatization will be fought in the entire country along with Chandigarh. He announced that on 31 December, electricity employees of all states will freeze work from 12 PM to 1 PM to oppose privatization and will march to Raj Bhavan in all state capitals
Gopal Dutt Joshi, General Secretary, said that the administration cannot force government employees to work under private companies. He said that if this happens then the electricity employees will not work at all.
All India Kisan Sabha General Secretary Biju Krishnan strongly opposed privatization and supported the movement.
Congress workers who have been on hunger strike against privatization for many days, also arrived and announced to give all possible help in the fight against privatization.
All the trade union leaders said in one voice that they fully support the struggle of electricity workers against the privatization of electricity. The trade unions warned that if any harassment is done to even a single electricity employee opposing privatization, then lakhs of employees and workers of the state will not remain silent and will jump into the movement along with the electricity workers. This struggle will continue till the privatization of electricity is withdrawn.
