[ad_1]
7,500-odd people turn up to create a 4-km-long chain demanding that the Centre scrap the Bill that was presented in Parliament on August 8 and ‘protect the nation’s power sector’
7,500-odd people turn up to create a 4-km-long chain demanding that the Centre scrap the Bill that was presented in Parliament on August 8 and ‘protect the nation’s power sector’
Power sector unions on Thursday created a human chain in Thiruvananthapuram in connection with the protests under way against the Electricity (Amendment) Bill. The National Coordination Committee of Electricity Employees and Engineers (NCCOEEE), which organised the protest in the evening, said more than 7,500 people turned up to create the 4-km-long chain which stretched from Vydyuthi Bhavan, the headquarters of the Kerala State Electricity Board, to Raj Bhavan at Kowdiar.
Later, Elamaram Kareem, MP and CITU State general secretary, inaugurated a public meeting. CPI State secretary Kanam Rajendran and INTUC State president R. Chandrasekharan spoke.
The human chain was organised as part of the nationwide protests spearheaded by the NCCOEEE, a platform for power sector trade unions, demanding that the Centre scrap the Bill that was presented in Parliament on August 8 and protect the nation’s power sector.
Parliament march
The Bill, if passed, will lead to a sharp increase in power tariffs, usher in privatisation of the sector making electricity inaccessible to the poor, the farmers and small industry, the NCCOEEE alleged. As part of its struggle, NCCOEEE is planning to take out a march to Parliament on November 23.
[ad_2]
Source link
