Power cuts hit several parts of Gurugram on Thursday as electricity employees went on an indefinite strike against the privatisation of power distribution in Haryana. Several residential sectors plunged into darkness, while people took to the streets amid disruptions.
Industrial units in key areas, including Daulatabad, Kadipur and Sector 37, were also affected by the power cuts, raising concerns over the impact on business and industrial activity in the city, Haryana's financial hub.
The strike comes amid growing opposition to the Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission's decision to grant private company Eleven Power a parallel licence to distribute electricity in Gurugram and Nuh for 25 years.
Electricity employees' unions have strongly opposed the move, calling it anti-worker and against the public interest. They have alleged that handing over high-revenue areas to a private company could undermine the state-run Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN) and place publicly built electricity infrastructure at the disposal of a private operator.
The employees' joint forum had announced a statewide strike from October 22 to 24 to protest the decision. The unions have warned that privatisation could affect consumers, farmers and small businesses through higher electricity costs, while putting the future of around 40,000 regular, contractual and outsourced employees and engineers at risk.
The unions have also argued that private operators could focus on profitable urban areas while leaving the financial burden of serving rural and agricultural consumers with state-run utilities.
