Himachal power staff protest privatisation move

Thousands of employees of the Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board staged a protest and held a ‘Bijli Panchayat’ in Dharamsala on Wednesday, responding to a nationwide call by the National Coordination Committee of Electricity Employees and Engineers. Organised at the Degree College Auditorium by the Joint Action Committee of Board Employees, Engineers, Pensioners and Outsourced Workers, the event saw participation from across the state.

Protest leaders Engineer Lokesh Thakur and Heera Lal Verma alleged that the Centre was pushing to privatise state electricity boards, which would endanger jobs, reduce social security, and raise electricity tariffs. They highlighted a severe manpower crisis—only 13,000 regular employees remain out of a previous strength of 43,000. Protestors blamed flawed state policies for financial woes that have delayed pensions and employee benefits.

Demands included stopping outsourcing, regularising vacant posts, reinstating the old pension scheme for post-2003 recruits, and clearing pending dues. They opposed restructuring moves like shifting sub-station maintenance to the communication wing and rejected cabinet recommendations on central pay scales, claiming pay cuts.