Bhopal: Protest over Electricity Amendment Bill 2022; power employees strike work, electricity plaints go unanswered

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): More than 70,000 employees of the energy department went on strike against the Electricity Amendment Bill 2022, across Madhya Pradesh. On Monday, the offices of power distribution companies opened as usual in the morning but no work was taken up. Electricity bills could be deposited online only.

On complaints of fault in power lines none of the employees reached to rectify it, as per employees.

Madhya Pradesh Power Distribution Company’s office in Govindpura was abuzz with protesters since morning with employees, contractual employees and officials participating in the strike.

MP United Forum for Power Employees and Engineers, a joint organisation for power employees, is leading the protests in the state. Forum's state coordinator VKS Parihar said that the Electricity Amendment Bill 2022 was supposed to be tabled in Lok Sabha on Monday and to protest against the bill strikes have been organised all over the state.

On questions over problems being faced by common people due to the strike, the forum’s spokesperson said that water supply and government hospitals have been kept out of the ambit of the strike. Madhya Kshetra Vidyut Vitran Company, PRO, Manoj Dwivedi told the media that there has been no interruption in power supply due to the protests.

In a letter to Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, the Forum has alleged that none of the stakeholders of the power department have been consulted before bringing the bill.

The organisation thus demands for the bill to be sent to the standing committee and pass it only after taking power employees as well as consumers into consideration.

Published on: Monday, August 08, 2022, 11:02 PM IST