PDB employees begin agitation today

They will hold demonstrations at offices and outside. The next progarmme will be announced on Thursday, leaders of employees unions said yesterday.

Recently, the government decided that power supply lines in urban areas consuming less than three megawatt power will be handed over to PBS.

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According to the decision, power distribution in six municipal areas including Bakerganj, Hizla and Muladi municipalities in Barisal district, Kathalia and Nalchhity in Jhalakati and Swarupkati municipality in Pirojpur district are to be handed over to PBS.

State Minister for Power Iqbal Hussein Mahmud at a meeting with WZPDC officials during a visit to Barisal on July 8 emphasis immediate handover of power distribution lines in the six municipal areas to PBS.

WZPDC employees then lodged cases in courts in their respective areas against the government decision.

In the cases, they stated that PBS was formed only for rural electrification, not for power distribution in urban areas. Besides, the order is applicable for areas consuming less than three megawatt power but the six municipalities each consume much more than that.

On Friday WZPDC employees at Boira held a meeting, which was attended by PDB Chief Engineer A M Shamsul Huq, Khulna Zone Chief Engineer Md Abdullah and CBA (collective bargaining agent) leaders.

At the meeting, the CBA leaders threatened of tougher action programmes if distribution lines in the six municipalities are handed over to PBS.

According to Chief Engineer A M Shamsul Huq, the handover can not be made now as the cases are pending in courts.

M G Faruk, CBA Secretary of Barisal PDB, said they are opposing the handover fearing loss of jobs. The WZPDC has over 3,000 employees in Khulna Zone.