Andhra CM's assurance breaks power deadlock

Striking employees to rejoin duty today; transport workers to take a call in two days

Power utilities’ employees in the coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions have deferred the ongoing strike, following a second round of talks with Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy on Thursday. Employees of the state road corporation indicated they would take a decision on ending their two-month stir in a day or two.

The electricity employees joint action committee chairman V Saibaba said 30,000 regular staff and 15,000 contract employees across 13 districts of Seemandhra would rejoin duties on Friday morning. The announcement is a relief to the millions in this region without power since Sunday. Power supply in Visakhapatnam and other coastal towns has already been restored, according to reports.

“We have decided to temporarily withdraw our strike, as the chief minister promised us he would leave no stone unturned to keep the state united. We also see an impact on the government of India, which has now set no time lines for the group of ministers (GoM) to give its recommendations on the modalities of bifurcation,” Saibaba said. He added the strike would be relaunched if necessary.

Earlier, a Congress spokesperson in Delhi had said the state government should invoke the Essential Services Maintenance Act if the employees did not end the strike. Around 4,000 Mw of generation capacity in Seemandhra remained shut since Sunday on account of the strike. Power staff also interrupted supply in 13 districts, affecting essential services such as rail traffic. However, the disruption in power supply had taken a large load out of the system, saving the state grid from a possible collapse.

Meanwhile, following a meeting with transport minister Botcha Satyanarayana, state road transportation corporation unions said they would decide on ending the strike in a day or two. About 12,000 road transport corporation buses have been confined to depots for the last couple of months, with the striking staff demanding they be considered government employees in case of a bifurcation.

State government employees in Seemandhra rejoined duties to support essential services and possible relief operations due to a cyclone. Their leaders maintained they would resume the strike after the state overcame the cyclone effect. “We are ready to continue our strike till the 2014 elections if the Centre goes ahead with bifurcation,” P Ashok Babu, president of the AP Non-Gazetted Officers Association, said at a rally on Thursday.