Warangal: In a significant protest on Thursday, contract employees gathered for a Maha Dharna in front of the NPDCL office in Hanamkonda, demanding the conversion of their contractual positions into permanent employment based on their qualifications. The rally, organized by the Telangana Vidyuttu Artisans Conversion ICASA, commenced at Hanumakonda Public Garden and made its way to Vidyuttu Bhavan in Nakkalagutta, where the participants camped on the road.
ICASA Chairman Eshwar Rao highlighted that the previous government had appointed 23,667 contract workers under NPDCL in 2017, with 19,587 still active in their roles, while some have since left or passed away. He emphasized the need for all contract employees to be converted to permanent positions in accordance with their educational qualifications.
ICASA Convener Wazir pointed out that similar regularization had been granted to rural electricity workers and outsourcing staff previously employed under APSB and Transco. CITU Hanumakonda District Secretary Ramesh reinforced the contract employees’ demands, advocating for the conversion of their roles to positions such as Junior Line Man (JLM), Junior Assistant, and Sub Engineer, depending on their qualifications.
Following the protest, the chief leaders submitted a petition to CMD Varun Reddy. Notable leaders from Aikasa, including Nagaraju, Arvind, Shankar, Sadanandam, and Chandra Reddy, also participated in the demonstration. The police managed the traffic by diverting it through Ambedkar and Kaloji intersections due to the large turnout of contract employees.
