JAJPUR: Hundreds of workers staged protest at VISA Special Steel Ltd (VSSL) in Kalinga Nagar industrial complex here on Monday, demanding resumption of the plant’s operation and disbursal of their four months’ wages.
The agitators said over 1,000 workers are facing financial hardships after the private steel plant was closed in July 2025 due to lack of the consent to operate (CTO), which was not renewed by the Odisha State Pollution Control Board (OSPCB).
After the denial of the CTO, the VSSL plant was shut down in July last year. The plant management provided salaries to the workers till November 2025. After that, it stopped paying the salaries citing financial problems, they claimed.
“In January, we met Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi and requested his intervention in the matter. He had assured us to take steps for reopening the plant. However, nothing has happened so far. We are finding it hard to make ends meet after the plant shut down its operation,” said an agitator.
The workers said they would intensify their protest if the plant was not reopened soon.
On the other hand, management of the VSSL plant claimed the CTO was refused without following proper procedure. The denial forced an immediate and total stoppage of all operations of the plant. Despite the complete absence of production and revenue since July last year, the management demonstrated its commitment to the workforce by clearing salaries of all employees till November 2025.
Due to the forced closure and the ongoing uncertainty regarding the plant’s future, the company is now facing an unsustainable financial burden and it is not in a position to disburse the salaries, it said.
VSSL official Nila Madhab Rath said the management is sympathetic to the cause of the workers. “However, we cannot do anything because of the lack of CTO. The current crisis of the plant is a direct result of a regulatory standstill,” he said.