Rural power supply at risk by threats of protests, work abstention

The employees of the Palli Biddut Samity (the association of rural electrification board employees) have been staging demonstrations continuously for the last few days.

Several thousands of employees already joined the demonstrations at Central Shaheed Minar in Dhaka while others have been observing various programmes extending their support to the protesters. This has been disrupting regular services for consumers in different areas.

In this context, the demonstrators have announced work abstention from Tuesday, raising concerns over potential disruptions to electricity supply in the areas covered by the rural electrification board (REB).

Earlier in October last year, the protesting employees stopped the supply of electricity in various districts of the country. But this time, the association has been holding the demonstration while continuing the electricity supply. Although they have not been providing regular services, they have kept the emergency services open but that too could be stopped from today.

Eighty Palli Biddut Samities of the REB supply electricity to the rural areas of the country. The employees and officials of the associations have been carrying out a movement for long to press home their two-point demand. They have now taken positions at the Central Shaheed Minar for the past six days to press home their six-point demand.

Thousands of the employees were seen chanting various slogans on Monday afternoon.

A media release sent by the Bangladesh Palli Biddut Association on Monday said the 80 Palli Biddut Samitywill observe work abstention keeping the emergency services open from Tuesday. The meter readers, who are members of the association, will join the demonstration at the Central Shaheed Minar by submitting their ‘reading books’ simultaneously at 9:00 am Tuesday.

The media release further said they do not want to creating sufferings for the people by halting the services. That is why they requested the adviser for the power, energy and mineral resources to meet their demands. Otherwise the employees will be forced to announce tougher programmes, they warned.

The government will have to bear the responsibility of any public sufferings due to the movement, the release added.

The Palli Biddut Samity officials and employees started their movement to press for two points from the beginning of the previous year. The movement took a new shift following the changeover in August.

At one stage they stopped the supply of electricity following the arrest of one of them in October last year. Since then, REB started taking punitive actions against some of the demonstrators on different grounds, including filing sedition cases.

The protestors alleged that as of now 29 of them were sacked, 40 suspended and over 6,000 transferred to areas far from their home districts.

Towards the fag end of the tenure of previous Awami League government, a committee was formed with power division additional secretary in the chair due to the demands of the protesters. The committee could not reach a decision even after holding several meetings. Later, on 23 October last year, the power division formed another committee of experts under the leadership of BRAC University vice-chancellor Syed Ferhat Anwar.

The committee will submit a report with some recommendations after assessing issues related to the Palli Biddut. On 27 March, a letter was sent to the power division from the cabinet division which said the REB and the Samitywill have to be merged through implementation of uniform service code. But the power division objected to the decision and requested to revoke the decision.

Speaking to Prothom Alo, power adviser Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan said an alternative system will be created if the service is hampered due to the demonstrations.

He further said they have asked the REB chairman to consider less severe punishment corresponding to the crimes of the employees who have already been handed punishment.

Mentioning that the committee of experts will submit its report after Eid-ul-Azha, Fouzul Kabir Khan maintained that they would take decisions after going through the report.

Bangladesh Palli Biddut Association said they submitted a memo to the adviser twice on 21 January and 26 April, demanding that the ongoing lawsuits against the officials and employees of the Somitee be withdrawn and the sacked and suspended be reinstated in their jobs.

The association also submitted signatures of 28,307 officials and employees to the power adviser.

Their demands include resignation of the REB chairman; restructuring the REB and Samityby implementing uniform service code like at other distribution organisations; regularising the jobs of meter readers, line workers and children and dependents of previous employees.

Sources at the Netrokona Palli Biddut Samity said the consumers are deprived of the services due the movement that has been continuing for the last few days. A total of 284 officials and employees joined the movement in Dhaka’s Central Shaheed Minar between Thursday and Monday.

Apart from them, many have been continuing work abstention; they are not signing their attendance registers.

Because of this ongoing movement, in some areas transformers damaged due to lightning strikes and storms could not be replaced.

A certain Rana Akand from Dakkhin Kandapara village in Koilati union in Kalmakanda upazila said there was no electricity in their areas for 50 hours at a stretch two days ago.

Sources at the Chapainawabganj Palli Biddut Samity, however, said their employees have been joining the movement by rotation. They have been facing problems at work due to mass transfers.

Satkhira Palli Biddut Samity sources said they are working overtime to continue the services in the area. But it will not be possible to provide the services if the movement continues for long and the number of absentees increase.

Speaking about this to Prothom Alo, M Shamsul Alam, energy adviser to consumer association of Bangladesh (CAB), an association of consumers’ rights, said the government did not seek legal redress of the movement from the time of the Awami League.

Stating that the government will have to make a decision quickly, Shamsul Alam remarked, instead of doing this a crisis is being created for the consumers.

[Staff Correspondents from Chapainawabganj and Satkhira and the Netrokona correspondent helped prepare this report by providing information from those areas.]