Visakhapatnam Steel Plant has suffered heavy loss for the past eight days due to a serious snag that developed in blast furnace-II Krishna, according to press release issued by the recognised union.
D. Adinarayana and N. Rama Rao, president and general secretary Visakha Steel Workers' Union, said on Saturday that the loss would be around Rs.100 crore. They said the management should order an inquiry into the issue and punish the officials responsible for the loss.
The union alleged that all attempts to restart the furnace had yielded no result so far and the management was not in a position to state when normalcy in production could be restored.
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The union said that no precautions had been taken in operating the furnace and lapses had resulted in the metal getting frozen in the furnace. The management was totally indifferent and negligent and it should explain to the government and the public the reason for the heavy loss, Mr. Adinarayana and Mr. Rama Rao said.
In a separate statement, CITU leader V. Dhanaraju said the problem arose following rainwater entering the plant. He said the private contractor engaged for cleanup and repair failed in discharging his responsibility due to lack of supervision.