Khushi Doshi
Published On : February 23, 2022 at 15:11 IST
Following a call for a 72-hour strike by electricity staff, several parts of Chandigarh were without power on Tuesday. The Punjab and Haryana High Court took suo motu cognizance of the situation and observed that an interruption in electricity supply can cause irreversible damage.
Disruption of electricity can cause irrevocable damage, says court
The strike was initiated by the UT Powermen Union on Monday night in response to the privatisation of the UT Electricity Department.
Anil Mehta, the senior standing counsel, praised the court, saying the power outage was caused by sabotage by the striking employees.
He also stated that the UT administration requested officials from Punjab and Haryana to help them deal with the crisis, and the most recent information he has received indicates that Punjab is unable to send anyone on deputation.
Students are required to take online exams and classes. In many cases, the virtual hearing in this court has been disrupted because lawyers are unable to appear due to a lack of electricity in their offices. In such cases, a power outage can result in irreversible damage.
The court has summoned the Chief Engineer of Chandigarh to appear before it on Wednesday. to inform the court of the steps taken to alleviate the crisis Meanwhile, Dharam Pal, the administrator of Chandigarh, issued orders under the East Punjab Essential Services (Maintenance) Act, 1968, prohibiting any employee of the Engineering Department (Electricity Wing) from striking with immediate effect for a period of six months.