Haryana power department employees' unions have called off their three-day strike following a meeting with Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini and the power minister Anil Vij, bringing relief to residents and industries hit by electricity outages in Gurugram, Faridabad and Nuh.
Saini said the government had directed the Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission (HERC) to cancel its order by invoking Section 108. He said the government had opposed the order when it was passed a few days ago and stood with the power department employees' union.
The Chief Minister said the union had announced the withdrawal of the strike and that electricity supply would be restored immediately. He reiterated that the government would not undertake any form of privatisation.
Following the Chief Minister's directions, the power department held a meeting to ensure the immediate restoration of uninterrupted electricity supply across affected areas.
Haryana Vidyut Prasaran Nigam Limited (HVPNL) Managing Director Aditya Dahiya and Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN) and Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (UHBVN) Managing Director Vikram Singh met all Superintending Engineers (SEs) and Executive Engineers (Xens) and directed them to restore supply without delay.
The department has sought reports on electricity supply from all districts by midnight on Friday. Control rooms set up for emergency services will remain operational until Saturday.
POWER CUTS HIT HOMES AND INDUSTRIES
The strike by DHBVN employees began at 10 pm on Wednesday, disrupting electricity supply across Gurugram, Faridabad and Nuh. The employees were protesting against the government's decision to transfer the electricity distribution system in Gurugram and Nuh to private entities.
The power department received more than 3,000 outage complaints in the first 12 hours of the protest, an official said on condition of anonymity.
The prolonged outages brought work at several industrial units in Gurugram to a standstill, with industrialists warning that losses could run into crores of rupees if supply was not restored.
Deepak Maini, an industrialist and chairman of the Progressive Federation of Trade and Industry, said Gurugram's Sector 37 had been without electricity since 10 pm on Wednesday. He warned that further delays could affect production, business operations, the availability of finished goods and timely deliveries.
Industrial units in Kadipur and Basai were also affected. In several residential colonies, residents turned to generators after their inverter backups ran out.
The disruption also caused drinking water shortages in several localities. Residents said they were relying on water stored in tanks, but those reserves were expected to last only a few hours.
OUTAGES TRIGGER PROTESTS IN FARIDABAD
In Faridabad's New Industrial Township-2 area, residents took to the streets demanding the restoration of electricity. They said the outages had also disrupted water supply. Police reached the spot after receiving information about a road blockade, pacified the protesters and dispersed them.
In Nuh, the disruption affected daily life in several areas, including Punhana, Nagina and Firozpur Jhirka.
Before the strike was called off, Gurugram Deputy Commissioner Uttam Singh had held discussions with the employees and urged them to reconsider their decision. The meeting had remained inconclusive, with the two sides failing to reach an agreement.
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