The Telugu Desam-BJP Government in Andhra Pradesh is making a big show of attracting entrepreneurs to the State for setting up new units but is making no attempt to revive the units which have been shut down in recent times for various reasons, according to a press release by the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU).

After holding a workers' convention here on Sunday, the CITU leaders said that as many as 105 units - 74 in Visakhapatnam district, 19 in Vizianagaram and 12 in Srikakulam district - had been shut down during recent times, rendering more than 38,000 workers jobless, but the State Government was utterly unconcerned.

Most of these units belonged to the jute, ferro-alloys and steel sector in the three north-coastal AP districts, they said. The biggest unit was Chittivalasa jute mill at Tagarapuvalsa in Visakhapatnam district, employing 6,000 workers and it is in the Bheemli constituency represented by State HRD Minister G. Srinivasa Rao. He had made a specific promise that he would get the unit revived during the 2014 elections. But so far he has shown no initiative in the matter. The mill has been closed for the past six years.

The ferro-alloys units had been forced to close down operations due to the high power tariff rates and in spite of the repeated requests from the industry the Government was not responding to the demand, the CITU leaders alleged.

The CITU urged Chief Minister N. Chadrababu Naidu to focus on the revival of these units and help the thousands of families of workers rendered jobless. To highlight the plight of the labour, agitation programmes would be conducted in the three districts from Feb. 22 to Feb 28 and on March 9 "Chalo collectorate" would be conducted.

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