The ongoing protests by outsourced employees, including meter readers, outside the powercom head office in Patiala intensified on Wednesday, creating tense moments as demonstrators briefly surrounded the main entry gate of the power utility’s headquarters, even as 20 meter readers climbed a nearby water tank.
The protest by outsourced employees, who have been agitating since June 16, disrupted entry to the powercom office for nearly 15-20 minutes in the morning.
The protesters were demanding regularisation of their services, release of pending salaries and clearance of other dues.
The president of the Outsource Employees Union, Harvinder Sharma, alleged that despite the Punjab Government’s assurances regarding outsourced employees, the powercom management had failed to initiate the regularisation process.
Meanwhile, the DSP (City-1) Sanjeev Singla reached the spot and persuaded the protesters to move away from the gate, following which officials and employees entered the head office. However, union leaders claimed they had not blocked the gate and alleged that this had been done by the security staff of the power utility.
Meanwhile, the meter readers’ union, which has been protesting since June 23, escalated its agitation by climbing the water tank near Mata Kaushalya Hospital, while other members continued their protest on the Mall road.
State president Lakhwinder Singh demanded immediate release of pending salaries and regularisation of services. He also reiterated the union’s opposition to the installation of smart meters, accusing the powercom management of ignoring their demands.
