Lucknow, Nov. 28 -- Power employees and engineers across India staged simultaneous protests on Thursday against the proposed Electricity (Amendment) Bill 2025 and ongoing privatisation moves in several states. The demonstrations were held under the banner of the National Coordination Committee of Electricity Employees and Engineers (NCCOEEE), a release issued on Thursday read. According to All India Power Engineers Federation (AIPEF) chairman Shailendra Dubey and general secretary P Ratnakar Rao, workers in every state participated in marches, demonstrations and gate meetings. Uttar Pradesh saw particularly forceful demonstrations, with massive gatherings in Varanasi and Agra, where the state government has initiated the privatisation of its distribution corporations. Protests also erupted across major cities including Hyderabad, Chennai, Mumbai, Kolkata, Ranchi, Guwahati, Jammu, Bhopal, Raipur, Vadodara, Patiala, Shimla and Lucknow.NCCOEEE has demanded immediate withdrawal of the Amendment Bill, calling it anti-farmer and anti-consumer. The federation warned that if the Centre and states do not reconsider, a nationwide agitation will follow. Dubey said the Bill would "pave the way for full-scale privatisation of the energy sector," resulting in steep tariff hikes that would push electricity beyond the reach of farmers and low-income consumers. He argued that provisions allowing private companies to use government distribution networks for minimal wheeling charges would financially cripple public discoms, which would still bear network maintenance costs. Additional concerns include the proposed elimination of cross-subsidy within five years, mandatory cost-reflective tariffs, and the promotion of virtual power markets-changes unions say will sharply raise monthly bills and destabilise long-term power agreements....