On Sunday, leaders from the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant’s employees and workers’ unions met with Deputy Chief Minister K. Pawan Kalyan, urging him to convince the Central government to abandon plans to privatize the plant. They stressed the plant’s historical significance, established after a challenging campaign that cost 32 lives and involved 16,000 people contributing land. Kalyan committed to advocate for VSP’s preservation with the Centre, viewing the plant’s survival as essential for the national economy. Proposed solutions included granting captive iron ore mines, providing working capital, possibly merging with the Steel Authority of India or NMDC Steel Limited, or reclassifying VSP as a strategic entity. Meanwhile, union leaders pointed out unpaid allowances for the plant’s 12,500 employees and 14,000 contract workers. Kalyan also inquired about allegations against former Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy regarding plans to sell VSP lands, which the employees confirmed. This meeting precedes Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu’s scheduled discussions with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 7, where VSP’s privatization is expected to be a focal point. Both Naidu and Kalyan have pledged to safeguard the plant, while Union Minister Bhupathiraju Srinivasa Varma noted the Centre’s ongoing efforts to find viable solutions for VSP’s financial issues.
Original Story https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/andhra-pradesh/will-take-vsp-unions-protest-against-privatisation-to-centres-notice-pawan-kalyan/article68725942.ece
Category : Andhra Pradesh
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