Construction at Tata Steel Ltd’s Kalinganagar steel plant in Odisha remained stalled for the second day after Monday’s violent clash between labourers and security staff, a top government official said.
“Today, they have stopped work and negotiations are going on. Hopefully, it will be resolved by tomorrow,” said Anil Kumar Samal, collector and district magistrate in Jajpur district where Tata Steel’s 6 million tonne plant is coming up. “Even though this is an internal company matter, senior officials of the district administration are helping the company and the workers in the negotiations,” he said.
According to Samal, with construction close to completion, labourers were not getting 3-4 hours of overtime work, sparking unrest. The plant is expected to be commissioned later this fiscal year.
About 17 people were injured when labourers clashed with security staff on Monday. “A group of contract workers went for unprovoked agitation and turned violent and indulged in rioting, vandalising company property and attacking other workers and officers,” Tata Steel said in a statement on Monday.
“As the lives of several other workers and officers present were endangered, the security staff had to resort to firing in the air to ward off the attacking workers, in which nobody was hurt,” the statement said. “However, because of the manhandling by the group of workers, in the process, total 17 people were injured, four among whom are grievously injured and are under medical treatment.”
The Kalinganagar plant will be Tata Steel’s second plant in India in more than 100 years and is crucial for the company’s growth as the country projects higher steel demand on the back of infrastructure and economic growth. Tata Steel, the largest Indian steel producer, will first commission phase one at Kalinganagar with a 3mt capacity to add to its total capacity of 29mt.
Source: Live mint
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