VISAKHAPATNAM: The steel plant agitation, being spearheaded by Visakha Ukku Parirakshana Porata Committee, entered its 60th day on Monday. Speaking at the relay hunger strike camp at Kurmannapalem, porata committee chairmen D Adinarayana and Mantri Rajasekhar called upon workers and people to make the April 18 ‘karmika and rythu sankharavam’ on the beach road a grand success.
Delhi farmer leaders, led by Tikait, will address the sankharavam. The event will give a new direction to the agitation, they said. They said the sankharavam will remove all obstacles to protect the steel plant from privatisation. The steel plant agitation will soon become a national movement to check the designs of the BJP government to privatise the plant, they added.
Employees of SM2 department of the plant participated in the relay hunger strike on Monday.
Meanwhile, former vice chancellor KV Ramana said the BJP government was trying to hand over PSUs to corporate houses on a platter. “The country’s development is possible only through public sector organisations. He was speaking at the relay hunger strike at Gandhi statue near GVMC office.
Uttarandhra Abhivridhi Vedika secretary Ajay Sarma said the Centre was helping the private sector by converting 44 labour Acts as four labour codes.
“PSUs such as steel plant, railway, BSNL, defence, and railways are being privatised. The agricultural Acts, if implemented, will create food scarcity,” he said and added that though the steel plant employees were agitating for the last 60 days, the Centre was not reacting.