Trade unions of employees at NEA cut power supply to ministers' quarters

KATHMANDU, June 9:Trade unions of employees at Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) cut power supply to ministers´ quarters in Pulchowk for two hours on Sunday as part of their protest against the NEA board´s decision to upgrade the capacity of the Upper Trishuli 3 ´A´ hydropower project from 60 to 90 MW.



“We will continue to cut power supply to the ministers´ quarters on Monday and Tuesday as well,” Ram Prasad Rimal, chairman of NEA Employees´ Union, told Republica. [break]



All four trade unions of employees at NEA -- NEA Employees Association, NEA Employees Union, NEA Employees Council and Nepal National Employees Association - are protesting the decision.



The unions on Saturday turned away the NEA management´s proposal for talks. They reached the talk venue on Sunday only to find the coordinator of the board´s talk team absent.



“Our demand is clear. We won´t withdraw protest until the NEA board scraps its decision to upgrade capacity of the project,” added Rimal.

The run-of-the-river project, which is being developed by Chinese contractor China Gezhouba Group Company Limited, is courting controversy after the NEA board decided to upgrade the capacity by violating the existing rules.



Meanwhile, NEA employees staged pen down protest in NEA head office on Sunday.

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