With the City Beautiful Chandigarh being powerless for over a day, the UT administration invoked the Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA) late night banning strikes across the city for six months. The order had asked the protesters to report to work by 10 pm failing which strict action would be initiated against them.
Resultingly, the Chandigarh Police arrested many of the leaders of the UT Powermen Union on charges of violation of the ESMA order.
The order that came into force with immediate effect, states, “The UT Administrator is of the view that any strike in the Engineering Department (Electricity Wing), UT, shall affect the distribution, transmission, operation and maintenance of the electricity supply, which is an essential service to the community.”
Meanwhile, the UT Administration has called in a Military Engineer Services (MES) team to restore power supply in the city.
Source: The Tribune