As many as 1,000 employees of Vizag Steel Plant here on Wednesday marched to the nearby Adani Gangavaram Port Ltd to plead with its agitating employees to allow raw material shipments.
Vizag Steel Plant (VSP), also known as Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd (RINL) is currently facing problems due to lack of the most essential raw material, coking coal, which is stuck at the port due to the port workers' agitation.
"Senior officers and trade union leaders (of VSP) have humbly appealed to the agitating workers of Gangavaram port to kindly allow transfer of RINL's coal from Gangavaram Port to RINL immediately," said a press release from the steel plant.
According to the steel plant, the essential raw material is stuck at the port for nearly a month already, posing a serious threat to its operations, equipment and financial health.
Atul Bhatt, chairman and managing director, RINL, wrote a letter to the Visakhapatnam Collector, seeking his intervention in resolving the raw material transportation issue.
"It is a matter of great concern that the court orders for transportation of coal to RINL through conveyor belt system or otherwise, forthwith, is still to be implemented in spite of desperate efforts from RINL side," said Bhatt.
Highlighting that AGPL, an all-weather deep-water port, remains non-committal, Bhatt requested the district administration and police to provide necessary security for the transportation of the raw material in a peaceful manner through its own loaders and dumpers.
He noted that the manpower and machinery is ready.