Power engineers stage protest against Electricity Bill 2000

By Our Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD, DEC. 12. Engineers working with AP Genco and AP Transco wore black badges and participated in lunch-hour demonstrations all over the State on Tuesday, expressing solidarity with the All-India Power Engineers' Federation which observed a one-day token strike for the day in 12 States against the Electricity Bill, 2000, which, they say, will have far reaching consequences on them and the sector they work in.

At Vidyuth Soudha here, the headquarters for both corporations, the engineers held the demonstration for half an hour after assembling at the main entrance around 1.30 pm under the aegis of the APSEB Engineers' Association and APSEB Assistant Engineers' Association. Carrying placards and banners, they raised slogans against the "black bill" which will envisage "Videshi policies by the Swadeshi Government" and against the "World Bank-dictated" power sector reforms.

Mr V. Venkata Reddy, Mr P. V. V. Satyanarayana, Mr K. Raghu, president, secretary-general and publicity secretary of the first association, and Mr P. Ratnakara Rao, and Mr V. M. Ravi Shankar, president and publicity secretary of the second organisation, who all addressed the gathering, said later that this was "only a beginning" of the stir against the Bill and they would follow whatever their Federation at the national level wanted them to do against the type of reforms which were on in different States. Referring to local issues they said the power sector reforms in the State were a "failure" as demonstrated by the anger of the people against tariff hike and "incapacity" of the two corporations to ensure pension payments, let alone depositing the promised sum for the purpose.

The leaders alleged that the Tripartite Agreement signed before the break-up of APSEB was "violated" on several issues and that many posts of assistant engineers and ministerial staff were left unfilled. They said it was shameful on the part of the Government to show the net worth of the total assets owned by the erstwhile APSEB at Rs 8,000 crores, and not at Rs 80,000 crores and alleged that attempts were being made to mark even efficiently run generation stations for sale to private parties.

Reports received by the association leaders indicated that similar demonstrations were also held at Vijayawada, Kothagudem, Rayalaseema (Muddanur) thermal stations and Srisailam, Nagarjunasagar hydel stations. But nowhere was work affected.

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Section  : Southern States
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