Pawan Kalyan questions VSP safety after blast, flags similar incident the night before

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Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan meets workers injured in the RINL steel plant blast at KIMS Hospital in Visakhapatnam on Tuesday. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan on Tuesday (June 9, 2026) questioned how strictly safety protocols were being followed at the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP), after the blast on Monday (June 8, 2026) that killed eight workers and injured several others. He said the workers had told him that a similar minor incident had occurred nearby the previous night, but went unnoticed as no one was present at the time.

Mr. Pawan Kalyan visited the injured workers undergoing treatment at KIMS and enquired about their health condition. He also interacted with doctors and officials overseeing their treatment.

విశాఖ స్టీల్ ప్లాంట్ ప్రమాద ఘటనలో తీవ్రంగా గాయపడిన క్షతగాత్రులను, వారి కుటుంబ సభ్యులను పరామర్శించిన ఉప ముఖ్యమంత్రి @PawanKalyan గారు. అన్ని విధాలా ప్రభుత్వం అండగా ఉంటుందని భరోసా ఇచ్చారు.ఆసుపత్రిలో అందుతున్న చికిత్సకు సంబంధించి, గాయపడిన వారి ఆరోగ్య పరిస్థితిని వైద్యులను అడిగి… pic.twitter.com/kbb56Bg4xe

Later, addressing the media, the Deputy Chief Minister questioned whether adequate safety measures were being followed at the plant, and called for a full upgrade of the VSP.

He said that, though it was a government-run enterprise, questions needed to be answered about the management’s functioning, the adequacy of safety systems, staff workload and working conditions at the plant. He also raised the long-pending issue of captive mines, and expressed displeasure over the delay in allocating them.

Mr. Pawan Kalyan said that once the injured workers recovered, he would hold a detailed meeting with workers, trade unions and other stakeholders to understand their concerns and find areas needing attention.

The Deputy CM also said one or two industrial accidents were reported every year in Visakhapatnam and Anakapalli districts, which he described as “alarming”. He questioned whether industrial managements w