A massive protest was organised by steel workers under the aegis of Visakha Ukku Parirakshana Porata Committee, at the Hill Top Guest House of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP) on receiving information that Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kanth was scheduled to visit it on Thursday morning.
The Niti Aayog CEO came to visit the industries in the AP Medtech Zone. The workers gathered in a large numbers and squatted on the route to be taken by the CEO in a bid to foil his visit. They stopped the general shift workers from reporting to their duties and raised slogans of ‘Visakha Ukku, Andhrula Hakku’, against the Centre and against privatisation of VSP.
The Porata Committee had already announced that anyone coming from the Centre would be preventing from entering the steel plant until the Centre revoked its decision. The workers raised slogans asking the CEO to go back. The situation was prevented from going out of control by the police, who were present in large numbers.
Committee leaders alleged that after coming to power, the NDA government had appointed Niti Aayog in place of the Planning Commission, with the idea of handing over public assets to corporate groups. They said the steel plant was established after 32 persons sacrificed their lives.
Committee chairman D. Adinarayana, co-convener Gandham Venkata Rao, members J. Simhachalam, Y.T. Das, Rama Rao, Murali Raju, Y. Mastanappa, Varasala Srinu and D. Suresh Babu were among those who participated.
