Representatives of various trade unions in Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP) have demanded that the State government make its stand clear on the reported allocation of VSP lands to South Korean steel major POSCO.
At a roundtable meet organised by the recognised union at the CITU Office at Gajuwaka on Friday, the representatives sought to know whether the State government was opposing the allocation of VSP lands to POSCO. Recognised union president J. Ayodhya Ram alleged that the Central and State governments have been showing a step-motherly attitude towards VSP from the beginning. He said that the agreement with POSCO was an attempt to hand over VSP to POSCO on a platter.
Steel INTUC president Gandham Venkata Rao alleged that the VSP management had made the agreement with POSCO on the directions from the PMO. He recalled that the people of Visakhapatnam had sacrificed their lands and livelihood for the construction of VSP.
General secretary of the recognised union Y.T. Das, JAC leaders J. Simhachalam, D.V. Ramana Reddy, T. Jagadish, Atchimnaidu, D. Ravi, D. Appa Rao were in attendance.
Meanwhile, a protest was organised by the CPI(M) at the Gandhi statue near GVMC on Friday, demanding that the State government come out with its stand on the issue.
CPI(M) City secretary B. Ganga Rao said that the management of POSCO had held discussions with Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy in Amaravati on Thursday regarding the joint venture with VSP. He demanded that the State government come out with a public statement on what had transpired in the discussions.
He recalled that employees of VSP, trade unions and political parties have been opposing the proposal of the Centre to hand over Steel Plant lands to POSCO for a long time. He decried the holding of discussions with the POSCO management.
