Visakhapatnam: Employees of the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant staged a massive rally in Gajuwaka, opposing the privatization of the steel plant. They demanded a fair price for farmers and a minimum wage of ₹26,000 per month for workers. The President of the Steel Plant Protection Struggle Committee, Narsinga Rao, criticized the government for neglecting the four-year-long protest and called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi to address the concerns of the steel industry.
Narsinga Rao announced that district-wide protest programs against the central government’s policies would be held on November 26. He emphasized the main demands, including opposing privatization, fair pricing for farmers, abolishing labor codes, and ensuring a minimum wage for workers.
He highlighted that merging the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant with Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) would provide the industry access to its own mines, securing long-term sustainability. Workers, he stated, are ready to make sacrifices for the steel plant’s survival.
Criticizing the government’s partisan stance, Narsinga Rao opposed the Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) for employees and urged the government to protect jobs, develop the steel industry, and resolve the challenges faced by workers in Visakhapatnam.
