An accident in the sinter plant of the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd) here on Tuesday around 6 a.m hit steel production badly, as supply of sinter to three blast furnaces was disrupted, and it may take two or three days to restore full production, according to sources.
The sources said the accident occurred in the sinter plant, as the structure supporting conveyor belts carrying sinter to the three blast furnaces failed due to overload. Sinter — a mixture of iron ore, coking coal and limestone — is screened in the plant and carried to the blast furnaces where the hot metal is produced.
There is no official communication from the management on the accident, but management sources said it was only a minor mishap and it could be rectified within a short time.
But the union leaders gave a different version, saying that it could take at least two or three days to restore production to normal levels. They also alleged that there was no proper maintenance in the sinter plant, resulting in the accident.
They said the top brass in the RINL were paying more attention to the coming IPO than to the operation of the plant.
Union leader P. Trinadha Rao alleged that such mishaps were occurring far too frequently in the plant and he urged the management to take proper remedial measures after identifying the causes.
It may be noted that the RINL is going for the IPO on October 16 to mobilise Rs 2,500 crore, amid stiff opposition from the unions to the move. The unions have called for a two-day strike on October 12 & 13.