The Power Employees Joint Action Committee of Uttar Pradesh, has demanded that the power employees be given an insurance cover of Rs 50 lakh, as they have been working through the COVID-19 crisis and the lockdown period. The power employees feel that just as the state government has offered insurance cover to police personnel and healthcare staff, power employees should also be covered for risking their lives during the pandemic.
The Committee maintains that power employees need to have their morale boosted, as they have been working relentlessly, to ensure that the state gets uninterrupted power supply, and that they have been risking their lives to generate, transmit and distribute power during the crisis.
Referring to the ‘lights out for nine minutes’ activity on April 5, when the entire nation had switched off all lights for nine minutes, the Committee explained that a huge dip in power demand had occurred. However, power employees had seen to it that the grid remained unaffected despite the odds, which was a huge challenge. Therefore, the Committee argues that their contributions should be rewarded in the form of a much-required insurance cover of Rs 50 lakhs.
On March 26, the Government had announced an insurance cover of Rs 50 lakh per person for the frontline health workers, sanitation staff, paramedics, nurses, ASHA workers and doctors, working to handle the COVID-19 pandemic.
Recently the Maharashtra government also announced an insurance cover of Rs 25 lakh for three months for gram sevaks and village development officers for their work in the fight against COVID-19.
