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| Only 30 percent staff strength in PDD are regular employees | | | Early Times Report
JAMMU, Aug 3: It may sound incredible but is a fact that 30 percent of total staff strength are the regular employees in Power Development Department and rest 70 percent are all temporary workers including permanent daily wagers (PDL), Temporary Daily Wagers (TDL) and need based casual laborers.
Despite the tall claims of the Government about the re-organization of the PDD and Power Development Corporation (PDC) nothing concrete has materialized so far alleged the ill fated employees of the Department who over the years crave for their regularization. The Government has engaged thousands of need based casual laborers, PDLs and TDLs in both PDD and PDC and despite completing seven years services four five years back they have not been regularized, said Mir Ghulam Rasool, general secretary, Low Paid Employees Federation and president Kashmir Electric Employees and Workers Association (KEEWA).
Mir while turning tables on Government in general and PDD authorities in particular alleged total exploitation prevails in the PDD and PDC and poor workers are being deprived of their human rights. Making a scathing attack on Department he said scores of casual laborers engaged on need basis in the Department got electrocuted while working on HT and LT Lines over the years but the Department alter disowned them.
The families of these employees are neither paid any exgratia nor any compensation or relief by the department later, he said, adding even in various cases the wages of the employees pending with Department are not even released in favour of his next kin. This sorry state of affairs in PDD and PDC has led to worsening situation and it ahs generated a lot of resentment among the working class of the Department.
Mir said recently one such casual laborer Manzoor Ahmed Dar who was working as a helper to lineman in Wakoora area of Ganderbal district in Kashmir Valley for over last seven years died after being electrocuted while restoring power supply to the village. The poor fellow was totally disowned by the Department and it neither paid any compensation to bereaved family nor any aid or financial assistance to his old parents who had pinned high hopes in him and whose future hope he was. According to Ghulam Ahmed Dar father of late lineman the PDD had issued an identity Card to their son and he was always been called for restoration of power supply in the area or any other Departmental work as the area had only one regular lineman who had to cater to the needs of 5000 population and look after the 21 transformers and 8 kilometer line.
The I Card issued by the Department has validity till service but after the fatal accident of the poor fellow Department disowned him saying that he was not a regular employee but was engaged only on need basis.
This is not an isolated case but scores of such cases await justice in Kashmir Valley alone, said Mir who holds callous PDD authorities responsible for the same. He said some days back one casual lineman was killed in Kangan, another in Capital city of Srinagar and another in Kulgam and all were denied the compensation and assistance by the Department which completely disowned them.
These causal laborers are given important assignments and in case of any eventuality they refuse to accept the person as their employee. This is total injustice and exploitation of the working class by the Department, said Javed Ahmed Shah district president LPEF, Srinagar. He while criticizing the Department said that new employment is made in all government departments except in engineering wings where the employees are engaged on daily rate basis. He wanted to know why department is disowning the employees after their death.
He said every year large number of employees retire from the Department and no new regular employee is engaged nor the daily wagers are absorbed on permanent basis in their place. This is a serious issue as daily wagers are working on receiving stations, power houses and grid stations.
Moreover the Department should have an independent Minister as the Chief minister being over burdened with other assignments is unable to devote proper time to this important department, said Mir who advocated for a full fledged Cabinet Minister for it. |
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