Visakhapatanam: Substantial participation by non-executive cadre of Visakhapatnam steel plant marked the two-day nation-wide bandh call, given by a joint forum of central trade unions in a protest against central government policies affecting workers, farmers, and people, as also against the privatization of the steel plant.
The bandh, specifically in relation to the steel plant in Visakhapatnam, was however partial in Andhra Pradesh and no incident was reported. The participation of VSP employees was massive, it being a stir also against privatization.
A top official of RINL, the holding company of VSP, said the company has 11,500 non-executives. Of them, 75 per cent abstained from work and participated in the strike. Sources said production has been hit.
“The plant was put in safe mode operations,’’ the official said.
Reports from other parts of the state said banking, shops and transport services were not affected expect for a few hours’ road blockade in some areas in the early hours of the day. Several trade union leaders were taken into custody and later freed.
The APSRTC said it had plans to operate services from 1pm, but advanced the operations as the road blockades were removed much earlier after the arrest of trade union leaders around 11am.
In Visakhapatnam city, several groups of trade unions squatted on National Highway at VS Krishna college junction, Maddilapalem and Gajuwaka from early hours, blocking the traffic. Vehicles including interstate trucks were stranded for a few hours. The police arrived at these areas and bundled all the leaders/activists into vans and dumped these men at different police stations.
In Gajuwaka, tension prevailed for some time and a YSRC rally led by MLA Tippala Nagireddy and a TD rally came face to face. Tourism minister Muttamsetti Srinivasa participated in the relay hunger strike organised by trade unions near the steel plant.
Several central trade unions including INTUC, AITUC, CITU took out rallies in Krishna and Guntur districts.
In Vijayawada, trade union leaders took out a rally from One Town area to Lenin Centre and held a meeting denouncing the anti-people policies of the Centre. The first day strike had its partial impact with several commercial establishments remaining open. A few of them remained shut for some time.
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