JAJPUR: Kalinga Nagar Mazdoor Union (KMU) has demanded immediate reopening of the closed Mideast Integrated Steels limited (MISL) plant at Kalinga Nagar Industrial Complex here.
A delegation of the KMU on Tuesday met Kalinga Nagar ADM Sapan Kumar Nanda and submitted a memorandum addressed to Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi in this regard.
The memorandum said thousands of workers have lost their jobs and are living a miserable life due to closure of the steel plant. The MISL plant of MESCO group has been shut since December 2019. As a result, around 1,400 employees and thousands of workers are not getting their salaries for the last five years under ‘no work no pay’ rule.
KMU president Shaik Mohammad Javed said, “Employees and workers of the plant have been running from pillar to post for reopening of MISL plant but to no avail. A group of employees had also met the chief minister last month and apprised him of their plight. But nothing happened.” The KMU threatened to launch fast-unto-death protest if the plant was not reopened soon.
Notably, MISL was manufacturing steel, pig iron and sponge iron from its Kalinga Nagar plant before its closure.