Ukku stir reaches 300-day milestone

Visakhapatnam: The Ukku stir against privatisation of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP) completed 300 days on Wednesday.

Marking the occasion, a Maha Dharna was organised at Old Gajuwaka junction under the aegis of the Visakha Ukku Parirakshana Porata Committee.

The protest was staged from 8 am to 1 pm. Leaders of various political parties, steel plant employees, trade unions and locals took part in the protest. Speaking on the occasion, Gajuwaka MLA T Nagireddy said Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy wrote a letter to the Union government and passed a resolution in the Assembly against the 100 per cent disinvestment of VSP.

Trade union leaders appealed to the Chief Minister to lead the agitation and take the stir to the next level. They also demanded the immediate formation of an all-party delegation to intensify the movement.

The leaders made it clear that the struggle will continue till the Central government withdraws its decision to privatise the VSP. Former MLAs Palla Srinivasa Rao and Chintalapudi Venkataramaiah, trade union leaders M Rajasekhar, J Ayodhya Ram, G Venkata Rao and employees participated in the dharna. Meanwhile, 'Visakha Ukku Nirvisitula Ikhya Sangham' (VUNIS) staged a protest at Kurmannapalem relay hunger strike camp. Raising slogans against the BJP government and displaying placards, VUNIS president P Bhaskara Rao, sangham members U Apparao and G Ramakrishna, among others participated in the protest.