Power staff take out bike rally against privatisation

Varanasi: A bike rally was organised in city on Thursday by the members of the Vidyut Karmachari Samyukt Sangarsh Samiti to protest the privatisation of state-owned power distribution companies.
The rally was followed by a week-long relay hunger strike at Shakti Bhawan, Lucknow starting Friday. A large number of junior engineers joined the rally.
At the Bharat Mata Temple, the electricity workers observed a two-minute silence to pay tribute to the tourists killed in Pahalgam terror attack.
Through the bike rally, they sought to draw the attention of the Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, demanding the cancellation of the decision in the public interest.
The committee demanded the immediate withdrawal of orders to remove contract workers from all electricity distribution corporations on a large scale in light of privatisation. They urged the CM to intervene immediately, stating that removing low-paid contract workers, many of whom became disabled, was inhumane and unjust.
They said that after five months of attracting govt attention through major panchayats, protest meetings and a large rally in Lucknow, electricity workers began their movement against the privatisation of the Purvanchal and Dakshinanchal Vidyut Vitaran Nigams.
The office bearers of the committee said two agreements with the committee on April 5, 2018, and October 6, 2020, clearly stated that no privatisation in the energy sector would occur without the consent of electricity workers.
The ongoing privatisation of electricity distribution in 42 districts violates these agreements, which were made with UP finance minister Suresh Khanna and former energy minister Shrikant Sharma.
The committee accused the power corporation's chairman of creating industrial unrest in energy corporations.
They said under the leadership of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, electricity workers worked to improve the electricity system. However, by initiating privatisation and not engaging with the committee, the corporation created a confrontational atmosphere.
They said on May 3, workers from Kesco and Kanpur will join, followed by Dakshinanchal on May 4, Purvanchal on May 5, project workers on May 6, Madhyanchal on May 7, and Paschimanchal on May 8. Lucknow's electricity workers will participate daily, with workers from other regions joining in support.
The relay hunger strike will continue for seven days in Lucknow. Meanwhile, protest meetings will be held in other districts and projects, and the campaign to submit memorandums to public representatives will continue.
The bike rally was led by Avinash Kumar, Narendra Verma, Mayashankar Tiwari, Neeraj Bind, Pramod Kumar, Ramashish Kumar, Rajendra Singh, Vedprakash Rai, Santosh Verma, Ramashankar Pal, Ankur Pandey, Prashant Kumar, and others.