At least ₹300 crore is urgently needed to move the coal from stocking points of the Vizag port and the Adani Gangavaram port to the steel plant yard, say officials
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As Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu is in New Delhi on a two-day visit to meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and others of the Union Government, various associations of Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited- Visakhapatam Steel Plant (RINL-VSP) are expecting help from the Centre.
K.V.D. Prasad, general secretary of Visakhapatnam Steel Employees Association, said that to overcome the financial crisis in the steel plant, at least ₹10,000 crore is required.
“We have no funds and not enough raw materials like coal. The situation is getting worse day by day. Till now, there was little support from the governments. Only two out of the three blast furnaces are running with limited stock of materials. We have already communicated to the local representatives to facilitate a meeting with Mr. Naidu and Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan to explain our situation, but there is no response from them till August 17,” Mr. Prasad said.
According to reliable sources, around 83,000 tonnes of coal is currently stocked at Visakhapatnam Port Authority (Vizag port) and 1.4 lakh tonnes of coal is stocked at Adani Gangavaram Port, here. At least ₹300 crore is urgently needed to move the coal from stocking points of the two ports to the steel plant yard.
RINL-VSP resumed the third blast furnace named Annapurna in December 2023 with financial assurance from a private company. But after two months there was no result. So, the management had to shut down one of its three furnaces. Then, it decided to shut down the furnace named Godavari.
“Yes, Godavari furnace is now closed. Only two furnaces, Krishna and Annapurna, are being operated. On August 16, we produced 11,300 tonnes of liquid iron from two furnaces against a capacity of 15,000 tonnes per day. We need at least two lakh tonnes of coal and funds to fully and efficiently operate the two furnaces for the time being,” said an official source from RINL-VSP.
Visakha Ukku Parirakshana Porata Committee (VUPPC) member V. Srinivasa Rao said that the NDA parties (TDP-BJP-JSP) also cheated the steel plant and its people by not concentrating on the current critical position of the steel plant. They made tall promises before the polls to come to the power, but now, none of them came forward to hear their voices. It is unfortunate to say that the CM’s ongoing Delhi tour did not have a meeting with Union Steel Minister Kumaraswamy as per their information. Even Mr. Pawan Kalyan is also not showing interest, he said.
VUPPC comprises 16 working unions of the steel plant.
VUPPC chairperson (one of the three chairpersons) Ch. Narasinga Rao, said “We have decided to lay siege to the CMD office of RINL-VSP on August 22. There will be a board meeting on the same day. If needed, we will also plan similar protests at the State and the Central levels. After August 22, we will chalk out future course of protests.”
