Ranchi, Oct 18 The Jharkhand High Court on Sunday directed Bokaro Deputy Commissioner Ajay Nath Jha and SP Nathu Singh Meena to take immediate steps to clear protesters blocking the gates of Bokaro Steel Limited (BSL), a unit of the Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL), in Bokaro.
The court of Justice Sujit Narayan Prasad agreed to hear an urgent petition filed by SAIL at 2.15 pm on Sunday.
The high court, which is currently closed for the Dussehra holidays, opened for the hearing, and proceedings were conducted in Court No. 3.
SAIL advocate Indrajit Sinha informed the court that protesters led by Bokaro MLA Shweta Singh had blocked the premises of the steel plant.
"The workers and employees are trapped inside the plant and cannot come out since yesterday. All 11 gates of the steel plant had been blocked by the agitators under the banner of Visthapit Naujawan Sangharsh Morcha," Sinha told the court.
The senior advocate claimed that around 5,000 workers were trapped inside the plant and were not being allowed to leave by the demonstrators.
"The finished product as well as raw materials are also static. In the absence of raw materials reaching the plant on time and the finished product not being moved out, there are high chances of the molten steel solidifying, thereby damaging the furnace and leading to expenditure of thousands of crores of rupees to restore the plant," he said.
Sinha also submitted that the agitation had completely halted the movement of raw materials and manpower into the plant, causing estimated production losses of Rs 30 crore per day.
After hearing the petition, the court observed that national assets such as the steel plant could not be allowed to be wasted due to an agitation.
It directed the Bokaro deputy commissioner and SP to take immediate action to clear the protesters and ensure free entry and exit from the plant.
The case will be heard again on October 28, when the high court resumes regular proceedings after the ongoing holidays.
Earlier in the day, protesters agreed to clear the main gate of the plant following talks with the administration.
BSL spokesperson Manikant Dhan told PTI that the main gate was opened on Sunday morning, allowing the movement of vehicles and employees to resume through it.
As of now, 10 gates are still closed.
