BSL jobs deadlock: Minister Radha Krishna Kishore joins protest

BOKARO: Talks between representatives of displaced persons, Jharkhand government officials and Bokaro Steel Plant (BSL) management failed to resolve the employment dispute on Saturday, prompting state Finance Minister Radha Krishna Kishore and the Jharkhand Congress president to join a sit-in protest in support of the agitators.

The meeting, attended by Bokaro Deputy Commissioner Ajay Nath Jha, Superintendent of Police Nathu Singh Meena and the BSL director-in-charge, lasted around two hours but ended without an agreement. The minister and the Congress leader subsequently staged a symbolic two-hour dharna, reiterating their support for the displaced families’ employment demands.

Kishore said around 32,000 acres of land had been provided for setting up the steel plant and claimed that approximately 18,000 people had received employment. He urged the management to seriously consider the demand for jobs for the remaining 10,000 displaced persons.

The minister said the dispute concerned the rights and future of families whose land had been acquired for the plant. Although BSL is a Central public sector undertaking, he said, the state government had a role in land-related matters and could not ignore the interests of displaced families.

Kishore and the Congress leader warned that legislators and MPs would join the agitation after Durga Puja if the dispute remained unresolved.

Gate blockade disrupts plant operations

The agitation entered its eighth consecutive day on Saturday, with protesters demanding employment for displaced apprentices, a clear recruitment policy and restoration of the earlier arrangement for Grade IV jobs.

The Displaced Apprentices Association said the protest would continue until the management provided a written assurance on its demands. The blockade affected the movement of employees, contract workers and goods-carrying vehicles, with long queues of vehicles reported outside the plant.

BSL spokesperson Manikant Dhan told PTI that protesters had blocked all 11 gates, preventing workers from entering or leaving the plant and severely affecting production and other official work. The plant initially continued operations with employees who had remained inside after the night shift. The management did not disclose the extent of production losses.

The agitation has received support from political leaders across party lines. Dumri MLA and Jharkhand Loktantrik Krantikari Morcha chief Jairam Mahto has backed the protesters, while Bokaro Congress MLA Shweta Singh has been participating in the hunger strike.

The protesters have warned that they would intensify the agitation if the management failed to make a concrete commitment on employment. The district administration and police are monitoring the situation.

The dispute centres on how employment opportunities should be provided to families displaced when the steel plant was established, and on the claims of trained apprentices seeking regular jobs. The immediate challenge for the management and administration is to restore normal access to the plant while finding a negotiated way to address the outstanding employment demands.