The Gram Vidyut Pratinidhi (GVPs) working in gram panchayats under the jurisdiction of all five electricity supply companies would stage an indefinite protest at Freedom Park in Bengaluru from September 6 demanding the State government to regularise their services as junior meter reader.
Chandrasekhar Hiremath, president of Shramajeevigala Vedike addressing press conference in Kalaburagi on Thursday said that the Contract workers of Gulbarga Electricity Supply Company (GESCOM), Hubli Electricity Supply Company (HESCOM), Mangalore Electricity Supply Company(MESCOM), Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (BESCOM),and Chamundeshwari Electricity Supply Corporation (CESC) would join the protest.
The Gram Vidyut Pratinidhi project was introduced by the then Karnataka government in 2004, in which local youths were entrusted with meter reading, bill distribution and revenue collection of their respective gram panchayats.
“There are 4,000 GVPs across the State is all ESCOMs, who are working on contract basis for the last 18 years, the State government should regularise their services Mr. Hiremath urged and added that initially they were paid only ₹2000 per month with incentives, after a series of agitation now they are getting around ₹12,000 a month.
Mr. Hiremath said that GVPs from across the State would participate in the agitation under the banner of Shramajeevigala Vedike and submitted memorandum to the Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, Minister for Energy V. Sunil Kumar demanding the regularisation of all the GVPs working on contract basis.
