Over 60 JEs go on strike over dept action against three employees

Over 60 Junior Engineers (JEs) of Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) went on a strike on Thursday, protesting disciplinary action taken against three employees, who were allegedly involved in unethical practices causing financial losses to the department.

As a result, power consumers under the Aggar Nagar Division faced major inconvenience when electricity remained suspended for around 10 hours. A major snag in the transformer at Rishi Nagar worsened the situation and due to the ongoing strike, the department had to arrange alternate staff to restore supply, causing further delays.

Sources in the department revealed that the three employees were allegedly involved in malpractice of issuing two meters on a single account to consumers to obtain additional security deposits. The action reportedly caused substantial financial loss to the department with an official probe currently underway to assess the total damage.

Social activist Kimti Rawal had also flagged the issue, stating that around 300 meters were reportedly installed unethically by a few employees.

Speaking to The Tribune, Chief Engineer Jagdev Singh Hans said, “One person, Manpreet, has been terminated, while two others — Satnam Singh and Amandeep Singh — have been suspended. Their role in issuing two meters per account cannot be overlooked. The move appears to have been aimed at collecting extra security deposits from consumers, but it has, instead, led to a significant loss for the department.”

He said instead of flaying the malpractice, JEs chose to go on a strike to pressure the department to revoke the disciplinary action. “Under such pressure, our functioning is affected, especially when technical faults arise in any circle,” he said.

Meanwhile, Aggar Nagar residents held a late-night protest over the prolonged power outage, expressing anger and frustration over the situation.