Steel plant accident: ₹1 cr. compensation, judicial inquiry sought

Account subscription benefits alongside Premium Stories, Editorials, Opinions and more. Unlock these with Subscription The View From India Looking at World Affairs from the Indian perspective. First Day First Show News and reviews from the world of cinema and streaming. Today's Cache Your download of the top 5 technology stories of the day. Data Point Decoding the headlines with facts, figures, and numbers Health Matters Ramya Kannan writes to you on getting to good health, and staying there The Hindu On Books Books of the week, reviews, excerpts, new titles and features. An all-party Joint Action Committee (JAC) of workers’ unions and people’s organisations on Wednesday demanded ₹1 crore compensation and permanent employment for the families of the 10 workers killed in the June 8 accident at the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant, besides calling for a judicial inquiry into the ghastly incident. The demand was made at a round-table conference organised by the JAC at the Public Library in the city. The meeting was chaired by JAC chairman M. Jaggu Naidu and vice-chairman M. Manmadhara Rao. Addressing the gathering, former UPSC member and former Vice-Chancellor of Dravidian University K.S. Chalam, Visakhapatnam Bar Association president Sanyasi Rao, CITU State president Ch. Narasinga Rao, and Visakha Steel Protection Committee leaders Mantri Rajasekhar and Adinarayana alleged that lapses in safety measures and maintenance had contributed to the accident. “Our first demand is a judicial inquiry. Only an independent and impartial investigation can bring out the truth,” Mr. Narasinga Rao said, while calling for accountability and measures to prevent similar incidents in future. A resolution adopted at the meeting called for a judicial inquiry into the accident, payment of ₹1 crore compensation and permanent employment to the families of the deceased workers, and ₹50 lakh compensation to those injured. It also sought full reimbursement of medical expenses incurred by the injured. The meeting was attended by representatives of CITU, AITUC, IFTU, INTUC and several other workers’ unions, along with members of lawyers’, women’s, youth and farmers’ organisations.