India News | Puducherry: Services of Central Power Grid Staff Requisitioned to Meet Fallout of Strike

Puducherry, Oct 1 (PTI) Home Minister A Namassivayam said on Saturday that the Union Territory administration has requisitioned the services of 24 central power grid staff to tackle the situation arising out of an indefinite strike called by the Puducherry electricity department employees against the move to privatise power distribution.

Namassivayam said this to reporters here after holding discussions with officials of the police and electricity departments.

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The minister, who held an emergency meeting with the heads of the electricity and police departments, said the administration would not remain a silent spectator to the disturbance and dislocation in power supply caused by the strike.

He added that he had received reports that a section of the power staff entered certain sub-centres in rural areas in an unauthorised manner earlier in the day and removed the fuse carriers, causing power disruption.

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He said the administration would take stern action against the staff who "deliberately" disrupted the power supply.

Namassivayam also said no agitation should cause inconvenience to people. He assured the people of the Union Territory that the administration will spare no efforts to restore power supply as soon as possible.

Lieutenant Governor (LG) Tamilisai Soundararajan also said the administration would be constrained to take legal action against the striking employees.

In a release, the LG said she has spoken to the chief secretary and other officials to acquaint herself with the impact of the ongoing strike.

"There should be no disturbance to people and if there is any transgression of limits, the government would be constrained to take legal action to protect the people," Soundararajan said.

With frequent power breakdowns, Puducherry and its suburban areas were plunged into darkness for hours together on Saturday.

With the home minister giving directions to electricity department officials, the power supply was restored in a phased manner. Some MLAs, along with their supporters, resorted to putting up road blockades on the East Coast Road (ECR) and other segments in protest against the privatisation move.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)