Over 60 staff of Ballari Thermal Power Station (BTPS), have been tested positive for COVID. causing panic and concern among the officials and staff. Three units at the centre have already been shut down. The workers did urge to the government to circulate 50% of the workforce. The lack of enforcement of this procedure has created anxiety among the staff.
With the second wave of COVID-19 spreading across the districts of Ballari and Vijayanagara, the state government has issued a circular to all the electricity and all other departments to deploy 50% of staff and to work in rotational shifts. The BTPS staff alleges that although the lockdown rules were in force, it never really applied to BTPS plant.
Around 3-4 people in the centre have lost their their lives to COVID, now in the state, more than 60 people have been affected by COVID and are taking medication and are under home isolation now. The staff has been panicking and has urged the government to enforce the rotational shift method through the employees union.
They have also urged for complete exemption of attendance for the blind, physically retarded, and the pregnant women. They asked for the exemption of the employees from giving their biometric attendance temporarily.
The higher officials have responded to their request and have exempted pregnant women, Blind, handicapped people for giving their biometrics. But still not enforcing the 50% rotational shifts in the workplace has given birth to anxiety among the staff
