The staff of the city-based PSU, the Dredging Corporation of India (DCI), have decided to launch a relay hunger strike from November 27 in protest against the Union Government's decision for strategic sale of the company's equity.

DCI Non-Executive Employees’ Union honorary president V.S. Padmanabha Raju, working president P. Venkata Rao and general secretary N. Narsinga Rao told reporters on Friday that the hunger strike camp would be set up at the Sea Horse Junction. They said the union had already served a strike notice on the management.

Padmanabha Raju criticised the constitution of an Inter-Ministerial Group by the NDA Government to oversee the appointment of transaction advisers and legal advisers for executing the disinvestment of DCI.

He said DCI had been earning profits since its inception in 1976. "It is the only public sector with head office in the city after Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited. The company is facing working capital problem due to denial of contracts by major ports on nomination basis and delay in refunding the huge amounts DCI put in Sethusamudram project,” he said.

He said there was no justification to sell away DCI as the company was rated as one among top 10 dredging companies in the world.

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