Chandigarh Electricity Department officials call off strike; back to work

Chandigarh, February 23: In a major relief to residents, employees of the Chandigarh Electricity Department, who had called a three-day strike in protest against the privatisation of the department on Tuesday, called off the protest on Wednesday. Employees have returned to duty and power has been restored in most sectors of Chandigarh. Earlier, amid major power disruptions in the city, the Chandigarh Administration assured the Punjab and Haryana High Court that electricity supply in the city would be restored by 10 pm on Wednesday. The employees' union assured the UT Administration that they would not proceed on any further strike now and would discuss the matter with officials of the Engineering Department. The Deputy Commissioner said since the matter of privatisation was pending before the Punjab and Haryana High Court, the employees' union should pursue it as per law in the competent court. Also read | ED arrests NCP leader Nawab Malik in money laundering case linked to Dawood Ibrahim At the same time, the High Court made it clear that this matter was outright contempt. "When the matter is pending in the High Court, then it is completely wrong to go on strike like this," the HC observed.

The strike of the power union in UT, Chandigarh has been withdrawn and the power supply has been normalised in most of the areas. The Power Union gathered at Sector 17 have been dispersed and have resumed their duties. @AmitShahOffice @PMO_NaMo — Department of Public Relations, Chandigarh (@dprchandigarh) February 23, 2022

The High Court has adjourned the hearing till Thursday, saying first the electricity of the entire city should be restored. Further orders will be given on February 24. Taking suo motu cognizance of the electricity crisis in Chandigarh, the Punjab and Haryana High Court had Tuesday observed disruption of power supply could cause irrevocable damage. The court had summoned the UT Chief Engineer to appear “to apprise the Court about the measures being taken to alleviate this crisis”. Also read | PM Modi calls for startup push in rural areas, expansion of women-led SHGs -PTC News