SHILLONG: The casual jugalis (electrical linemen) has decided to suspend their indefinite strike (cease work) after Meghalaya Energy Corporation Limited (MeECL) has revalidated the merit list of qualified jugalis seeking permanent placement for another period of six months till January 31, 2018.
The jugalis have been asking the MeECL to issue appointment letters to 466 qualified jugalis as the merit list will lapse next month (August 2nd).
However, even after announcing the suspension of their protest, the jugalis have decided to stage two-day protest every month outside the MeECL gate to remind the department to fulfill their assurance of issuing appointment letters to all the 466 successful candidates within a period of three months.
KHNAM state youth wing president Thomas Passah said that the jugalis would intensify their agitation if the power cooperation fails to deliver on their assurances in the next three months.
“If the MeECL is using the extension of the merit list as a ploy to keep us quiet then, we might even consider staging an indefinite hunger strike which will also be participated by family members of the jugalis,” he said.
While urging the MLAs to raise their voice in on the issue pertaining to the qualified jugalis in the Assembly, he said that the cease work protest by the jugalis greatly affected many villages which did not had electricity for the past two days
Meanwhile, they have also submitted a writ petition before the Meghalaya High Court on the delay of MeECL in issuing appointment letters to the jugalis.
The jugalis had resorted to protest following the delay on the part of the Corporation to issue appointment letters to all the 466 successful candidates