Lucknow, July 31 -- Raising the issue of reinstatement of outsourced power employees, two employee organisations have accused the Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited (UPPCL) management of failing to fulfil earlier commitments. They alleged that large-scale removal of contract and outsourced workers has created an acute manpower shortage that is affecting electricity services. On Thursday, the Vidyut Karmachari Sanyukt Sangharsh Samiti urged the state government and power utility management to immediately reinstate all contract employees removed after the March 2023 agitation and withdraw what it described as "punitive and harassment-driven" action against employees. The committee also called for a "healthy and fear-free" working environment across power corporations. Shailendra Dubey, convenor of the committee, claimed that nearly 25,000 contract workers have been removed over the past two years in the wake of privatisation-related measures. Meanwhile, the UP Power Corporation Tender/Contract Employees' Union said its protest at Lucknow's Eco Garden and other districts entered the second day after talks with the management failed. State general secretary Devendra Kumar Pandey alleged that around 45% of experienced outsourced employees posted at 33/11 kV substations had been removed despite UPPCL's own orders, resulting in a shortage of skilled manpower. Pandey claimed that although UPPCL constituted a committee on May 23, 2025, to frame staffing norms for operation and maintenance of substations, its report has not been made public even after 14 months....