JKPEECC demands safety measures, job security

JKPEECC President, Nasir Ahmed Bhat during a press conference in Srinagar on Wednesday. -Excelsior/Shakeel
JKPEECC President, Nasir Ahmed Bhat during a press conference in Srinagar on Wednesday. -Excelsior/Shakeel

Fate of Rs 25 cr Welfare fund not known

Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Jan 29: The Jammu and Kashmir Power Electric Employees Coordination Committee (JKPEECC) today demanded improved safety measures, medical insurance, and job security for linemen and field workers of the Power Development Department (PDD) in the Union Territory.
Addressing a press conference, Coordination Committee Chairman Naseer Ahmed Bhatt said many workers have lost their lives due to substandard safety equipment and lack of training. “Our linemen are facing death, yet there is no awareness program. Safety gear is not provided, and even where it is available, it is not up to the mark,” he said.
Bhat also criticized the lack of medical insurance for employees, pointing out that injured workers struggle to afford treatment. “Whenever an employee has an accident, he becomes bedridden and lacks the money for treatment. At that moment, he is not even in a condition to ask for help,” he said.
He demanded risk allowances for employees, citing the dangers involved in the job. “We want every employee to have medical insurance so that they can receive treatment anywhere. We have sacrificed thousands of lives in the line of duty, yet neither the government nor the administration recognizes that working in the electric department is a high-risk job,” he added.
Bhatt called for the reinstatement of a welfare scheme scrapped in 2022, claiming that Rs 25 crore collected from workers remains unaccounted for. “The millions of rupees collected from employees have neither been disbursed nor accounted for. If the department does not take the right measures to save lives, our officers will be responsible for future consequences,” he said.
He also demanded the regularisation of temporary workers and highlighted the case of a retired lineman who “gave 30 years to the department but went home empty-handed.”