Date:05/05/2005 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2005/05/05/stories/2005050512210300.htm

Kerala - Alappuzha

Electricity employees' confederation meet from Saturday

Staff Reporter

Plea to amend Electricity Act

ALAPPUZHA: The 18th State conference of the Kerala Electricity Employees' Confederation (INTUC) will be held at V.P. Marakkar Nagar (Iswarya Auditorium) here on May 7 and 8.

The Electricity Minister, Aryadan Muhammed, will inaugurate the meeting at 10 a.m. on May 7, said Sajeev Janardhanan, general convener of the reception committee at a press conference here.

The confederation general secretary, Thampanoor Ravi, will preside.

The KPCC general secretary, Kodikunnil Suresh, will deliver the keynote address. The KPCC general secretaries, Benny Behanan and K.C. Abu, and M. Murali, MLA, will speak.

The KPCC vice-president, A.C. Jose, will inaugurate the delegates' meeting at 11 a.m. on the day. The Alappuzha DCC president, C.R. Jayaprakash, will preside.

The electricity board member, Hidoor Muhammed, will deliver the keynote address. The delegates' meeting will be followed by a public meeting.

The UDF convener, P.P. Thankachan, will inaugurate the public meeting at 12 noon.

The Kottayam DCC president, Anto Antony, will preside. The writer Perumbadavom Sreedharan will inaugurate the cultural meeting at 10 a.m. on May 8.

The working president of the confederation, P.M. Radhakrishnan, will preside.

Additional burden

Mr Janardhanan said that the Electricity Act 2003 was anti-consumer and anti-worker and should be amended.

He said the Act was drafted as per the guidelines of the World Bank and was beneficial only to private companies.

He said the privatisation of the electricity boards had resulted in additional burden to the exchequer in the States where it was implemented.

He said power tariff had recorded a steep increase wherever the power sector was privatised.

Mr. Janardhanan appealed to the Government to put pressure on the Union Government to amend the Electricity Act 2003. The State Government should also stop all steps to make KSEB a company, he said.