Major power outages in Chandigarh as employees go on strike
Darpan News Desk IANS, 22 Feb, 2022 02:29 PM
Chandigarh, Feb 22 (IANS) Many residential and industrial parts of the city faced major power outages as employees of the Electricity Department went on a three-day strike from Monday night in protest against the privatisation of the department.
Most of the places have been facing snapping of power since midnight.
Even elective surgeries at the Government Medical College Hospital in Sector 32 (GMCH 32) have been postponed.
"Most of the Industrial Area Phase I and II witnessed blackouts since Monday night. Officers are showing helplessness in restoring power. Hope they arrive at some solution for the next two days," said Chamber of Chandigarh Industries President Naveen Manglani.
Officials told IANS that the situation may remain the same for two days more as 1,000 employees began a 72-hour strike on Monday night.
Residents claimed that three helpline numbers set up for registering the complaints have not been responding to the calls.
Chandigarh Adviser Dharam Pal told the media they will investigate the reasons behind the power disruption. "Action will be taken against those responsible," he added.
UT Powermen Union President Gopal Dutt Joshi blamed the winds for the disruption of power in Chandigarh.
"We have not disrupted the electricity supply, but we are on strike. Employees hired from neighbouring Punjab and Haryana probably are not able to detect the fault," he added.
In a letter to the Prime Minister, Amarinder Singh said his government would be happy to work in conjunction with the Centre to ensure adherence to proper Covid-19 protocols, including testing and vaccination of pilgrims using the corridor.
A CBI spokesperson here said that the agency sleuths carried out searches at the premises of Eastern Coalfields Ltd General Manager Subhash Mukhopadhyay, retired General Manager Sushanta Banerjee, colliery agent H.C. Moitra, Manager, Security, Mukesh Kumar, and Inspector, Security, Rinku Behra.
Former Congress President and Sonia Gandhi's son, Rahul Gandhi, was also present during the meeting. The meeting was held at Sonia Gandhi's residence at 10 Janpath here.
The Prime Minister conveyed his warm greetings to President Biden and Vice President Harris and his appreciation for the initiatives taken by President Biden including those related to the Quad, Covid-19 and climate change.
Chief Minister Amarinder Singh has ordered Punjab State Power Corporation Ltd (PSPCL) to cancel or revisit all the "one-sided" pacts with private companies that are not contractually obligated to supply sufficient power to meet the state's peak demand during the paddy sowing and summer season.
