Farmers Movement Archive

Farm stir: PSPCL asks staff to switch to Jio, draws flak

Jalandhar At a time when farmers’ protest against the three farm laws on the borders of Delhi for nearly four months has also expressed strong resentment against corporate house, Reliance Group, Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) is planning to give mobile SIMs from Reliance Jio to its employees. Punjab’s farmers have also targeted malls and petrol pumps belonging to Reliance, and have not allowed them to function. On March 8, deputy chief engineer, administration, PSPCL north zone, Jalandhar, issued a letter to other deputy chief engineers, superintendent engineers and others, seeking details of SIMs that the department has issued to employees. The letter had gone viral on social media. “Employees will be given Reliance Jio SIM, replacing the current Vodafone-Idea. You must send details of Vodafone-Idea SIM cards of your respective jurisdiction by 3pm. If details are not received, then the information of those who send in the details will be forwarded to the headquarters,” added the letter that RSP Randhawa had written. “This information was sought by the headquarters, so my office issued this letter. The contents of the letter (especially on Jio SIM cards) was written by mistake by the staff.” PSPCL chairman-cum-managing director A Venu Prasad said, “We had floated tenders for mobile services for our employees. Three companies Airtel, Vodafone-Idea and Reliance Jio took part, with Reliance Jio the lowest bidder and Vodafone-Idea the second lowest bidder in the tender process. The difference was around ₹60 lakh. As per rules, the tender went to Reliance Jio. No final decision has been taken yet.” With the letter going viral, several netizens and social media users slammed the Punjab government for, what they claimed, was its hobnobbing with Reliance Jio. Some comments also dubbed the move a betrayal of farmers’ cause. In January, Reliance Jio had moved the Punjab and Haryana high court seeking action against those involved in damaging its infrastructure and other properties in the state, amid the agitation against the three farm laws. The company claimed that over 1,500 of its telecom towers had been vandalised, crippling its mobile network in Punjab, where it has 14 million subscribers.

Hindustan Times

10-03-2021

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