After invoking the Essential Services and Maintenance Act (ESMA) in all government and private-run medical services to combat corona virus in the state, the State government on Thursday brought three power Discoms under ESMA purview.

The state government declared the supply and distribution of electricity as ‘essential. All the three Discoms operated in Andhra Pradesh will be a public utility service under the ESMA for six months with immediate effect. A decision to this effect was taken at a meeting held by Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy. This means that all employees of the three Discoms APSPDCL, APTransco and APEPDCL including and engineers has been prohibited for the next six months under the ESMA provisions.

At a recent high-level meeting, the government had decided to bring the entire health sector in the state under the purview of essential services. The AP government said stern action will be taken under the provisions of the Act on the institutes and service providers in the healthcare sector, if they refuse to provide services to the people.

Not only government but even private-run health institutes have also been brought under the purview of ESMA. Officials and employees of all government as well as private-run health and medical institutes, doctors, nurses, health workers, cleanliness workers, maintenance and transport of medical equipment, as well as manufacturing and transportation of medicines and drugs, ambulance services, water and power supply, security related services had been brought under the purview of the ESMA.