Ludhiana: PSPCL services crippled amid JEs’ strike on Day 2
The strike, spearheaded by the Association of Junior Engineers and the Technical Services Union, began on July 31 in protest against the suspension of two technical staff members from the Aggar Nagar division
Widespread power disruptions gripped Ludhiana on Friday as junior engineers (JEs) of Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) continued their protest for the second consecutive day, bringing routine maintenance and fault repairs to a grinding halt. The ongoing agitation has forced the department to stall all new meter connection and replacement requests until August 4, sparking public anger amid prolonged outages.
The strike, spearheaded by the Association of Junior Engineers and the Technical Services Union, began on July 31 in protest against the suspension of two technical staff members from the Aggar Nagar division. The protesters allege that the suspensions were based on a flawed internal inquiry led by senior officials who are themselves under the scanner in the same corruption case.
Jagtar Siahar, district head of the association, said, “We ceased our duties from Thursday after the department took action based on a flawed investigation. The officials involved in the inquiry are themselves facing allegations. We even staged a protest outside the chief engineer’s office on Ferozepur Road on Friday.”
Though the deadlock appeared to ease late Friday following a meeting with chief engineer Jagdev Hans, who assured in writing that the matter has been referred to the PSPCL director in Patiala, the engineers have not fully resumed operations. They agreed to return to general duty but decided to keep their SAP IDs used for issuing new meter connections and processing replacement requests deactivated until their demands are fully addressed.
This move effectively stalls all new meter installations and replacement of faulty meters till August 4, the date by which a new committee, headed by deputy chief engineer (enforcement wing) Ramesh Kaushal, is expected to resolve their concerns.
{{/usCountry}}This move effectively stalls all new meter installations and replacement of faulty meters till August 4, the date by which a new committee, headed by deputy chief engineer (enforcement wing) Ramesh Kaushal, is expected to resolve their concerns.
{{/usCountry}}“If the department fails to take action by August 4, we will escalate our agitation,” said Siahar.
{{/usCountry}}“If the department fails to take action by August 4, we will escalate our agitation,” said Siahar.
{{/usCountry}}Public bears the brunt of long outages
{{/usCountry}}Public bears the brunt of long outages
{{/usCountry}}Meanwhile, the impact of the protest is already being felt across Ludhiana. With JEs off duty for two straight days, the department struggled to maintain normal operations. Routine repair and maintenance works have come to a halt, causing prolonged outages in areas including Lakkar Bazaar, Shivpuri, Janta Nagar, Kot Mangal, Jawahar Nagar, Sita Nagar and Sham Nagar among others on Friday.
{{/usCountry}}Meanwhile, the impact of the protest is already being felt across Ludhiana. With JEs off duty for two straight days, the department struggled to maintain normal operations. Routine repair and maintenance works have come to a halt, causing prolonged outages in areas including Lakkar Bazaar, Shivpuri, Janta Nagar, Kot Mangal, Jawahar Nagar, Sita Nagar and Sham Nagar among others on Friday.
{{/usCountry}}The situation turned volatile in parts of Haibowal, Hambran Road and Rishi Nagar under Aggar Nagar division where residents took to streets late Thursday night after suffering power cuts lasting more than 20 hours amid oppressive humidity.
Commenting on the situation, a senior PSPCL XEN, wishing not to be named, said,“Junior engineers play a crucial role in resolving faults following feeder tripping and technical glitches, whose frequency increases during monsoon. They supervise linemen and assistant linemen on the ground. With the department already facing a severe staff crunch, routine tasks that usually take an hour are now dragging on for four to five hours.
