Steel plant employees block NITI Aayog CEO’s path on his visit to Vizag

In protests against the privatisation of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant, a large number of employees and workers stood their ground on the road, blocking the way to the plant in Vizag. Representatives of Visakha Ukku Parirakshana Porata Committee (VUPPC) had earlier warned that any people responsible for the Centre’s decision to privatise VSP will not be allowed to visit Vizag.

To this cause, the Chief Executive Officer of the National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog, Amitabh Kant’s path to Andhra MedTech Zone (AMTZ) in Vizag was blocked by steel plant employees on Thursday. Hence, Mr. Kant had to wait at the airport for a long time before he could visit AMTZ. According to VUPPC, Niti Aayog is just as responsible, for advising the Centre to privatise VSP. 

Though the NITI Aayog CEO’s convoy eventually took a different route to the Andhra MedTech Zone, the steel plant employees went on protesting and shouting slogans like “CEO go back”. Later on, Mr. Kant also visited the Brandix integrated Textile Park where he spoke about the potential of India’s textile sector in creating jobs. 

Meanwhile, VUPPC and the employees of the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant stand firm on the decision to oppose its privatisation. The protests continued in the city, with VUPPC Chairman D Adinarayana, co-convenor Gandham Rao and others in attendance. On Tuesday, steel plant employees had protested on the city roads, unmoved by the persistent rain.