BENGALURU: Several roads in India’s IT capital had been plunged into darkness on Wednesday evening, inconveniencing citizens and endangering the security of women. Lakhs of boulevard lighting remained switched off all the way through the peak hours as electrical contractors of BBMP launched an indefinite strike over dues pending for over 18 months.
Later, following a meeting with mayor R Sampath Raj, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike Vidyut Guttigedara Sangha (electrical contractors union) agreed to switch the lighting on and off but refused to carry out maintenance work or repairs until their dues are paid. Bengaluru was once the first town in Asia to get electrified boulevard lighting in 1905. Currently, the city has around four.eight lakh boulevard lighting.
BBMP gets 42 plaints in not up to 3 hours
We instructed them that we'd make 50% of the cost by Thursday, and the remaining upon getting approval all the way through the council assembly on Friday. After the assembly on Wednesday night, they mentioned they would transfer on the lighting but refused to do any maintenance,” the mayor mentioned.
As negotiations had been on between BBMP officials and contractors, a number of streets in the town turned black stretches with nobody turning up to transfer on the lighting. BBMP officials mentioned the lighting are normally switched on at 6.30pm but on Wednesday, they got here on most effective after 9pm due to the agitation. In the span of twoand-a-half hours, the BBMP control room gained 42 court cases from citizens who mentioned it was once pitch darkish of their neighbourhoods, making it tough for citizens, especially women and kids, to move about.
“The boulevard lighting normally come on at 6.30pm but on Wednesday evening, they did not come on in Banashankari second degree,” rued Ravindranath Guru, a resident. “In MC Layout of Vijayanagar, the street lighting had been off on 16th, 17th and 18th pass. I believed it might have been a power reduce,” mentioned B Veeresha, a resident.
Resident welfare associations in several spaces, together with Vasanth Nagar, Indiranagar, Vijayanagar and Koramangala, complained of darkness and inconvenience especially to those returning home from work.
The contractors mentioned they've been striking up with delays in bills for lengthy. “We have finished work worth Rs 45 crore even though our work orders had been for Rs 30 crore. Additionally, we've also paid 12% GST from our personal wallet on the materials purchased. We are beneath a lot of tension so we're hard that they a minimum of unlock the cash for 365 days’s work” mentioned KM Raju, basic secretary of the affiliation.
BBMP had earlier made up our minds to replace all of the town’s boulevard lighting with LED bulbs in an try to carry down the electricity and maintenance bills but the venture didn’t take off.
Earlier in the day, masses of contractors accrued at the BBMP head place of job, with 100-odd boulevard mild maintenance vehicles lining the streets out of doors.
Later, following a meeting with mayor R Sampath Raj, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike Vidyut Guttigedara Sangha (electrical contractors union) agreed to switch the lighting on and off but refused to carry out maintenance work or repairs until their dues are paid. Bengaluru was once the first town in Asia to get electrified boulevard lighting in 1905. Currently, the city has around four.eight lakh boulevard lighting.
BBMP gets 42 plaints in not up to 3 hours
We instructed them that we'd make 50% of the cost by Thursday, and the remaining upon getting approval all the way through the council assembly on Friday. After the assembly on Wednesday night, they mentioned they would transfer on the lighting but refused to do any maintenance,” the mayor mentioned.
As negotiations had been on between BBMP officials and contractors, a number of streets in the town turned black stretches with nobody turning up to transfer on the lighting. BBMP officials mentioned the lighting are normally switched on at 6.30pm but on Wednesday, they got here on most effective after 9pm due to the agitation. In the span of twoand-a-half hours, the BBMP control room gained 42 court cases from citizens who mentioned it was once pitch darkish of their neighbourhoods, making it tough for citizens, especially women and kids, to move about.
“The boulevard lighting normally come on at 6.30pm but on Wednesday evening, they did not come on in Banashankari second degree,” rued Ravindranath Guru, a resident. “In MC Layout of Vijayanagar, the street lighting had been off on 16th, 17th and 18th pass. I believed it might have been a power reduce,” mentioned B Veeresha, a resident.
Resident welfare associations in several spaces, together with Vasanth Nagar, Indiranagar, Vijayanagar and Koramangala, complained of darkness and inconvenience especially to those returning home from work.
The contractors mentioned they've been striking up with delays in bills for lengthy. “We have finished work worth Rs 45 crore even though our work orders had been for Rs 30 crore. Additionally, we've also paid 12% GST from our personal wallet on the materials purchased. We are beneath a lot of tension so we're hard that they a minimum of unlock the cash for 365 days’s work” mentioned KM Raju, basic secretary of the affiliation.
BBMP had earlier made up our minds to replace all of the town’s boulevard lighting with LED bulbs in an try to carry down the electricity and maintenance bills but the venture didn’t take off.
Earlier in the day, masses of contractors accrued at the BBMP head place of job, with 100-odd boulevard mild maintenance vehicles lining the streets out of doors.
Blackout on B'luru streets as union calls strike
![Blackout on B'luru streets as union calls strike]()
Reviewed by Kailash
on
June 21, 2018
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