Rourkela, Sept. 2 (PTI): Celebration of the golden jubilee of the firing of first furnace of the country proposed by the Steel Authority Of India Limited (SAIL) at Bhilai has created confusion and resentment among a cross section of people here.
“Rourkela Steel Plant is the first steel plant in the country. Its first blast furnace was commissioned on February, 3, 1959 and the blast furnace of Bhilai Steel Plant was commissioned on February 4, 1959,” trade union bodies said.
“How can Bhilai be the first steel plant? It is RSP,” they claimed.
The reaction came following publication of news items on observing the golden jubilee of the firing of the first furnace of India by the SAIL at Bhilai in February, 2009, quoting steel ministry official sources at New Delhi.
RSP — being the first integrated public sector steel plant of the country has got every right to celebrate the SAIL’s golden jubilee celebration first on February 3, 2009, Bidyadhar Barik, working president of the Hind Mazdoor Sabha of Orissa State Council.
The leader has urged the SAIL authorities and steel minister Ram Vilas Paswan to give “due dignity to RSP in this regard, otherwise, the workers will resort to agitation”.
RSP was the first of three steel plants taken up in the public sector on December 31, 1953, as per an agreement made between the government of India and consortium consisting of Thyssen and Demag, Aktingeselischaft, Disburg to set up a steel plant at Rourkela with an initial capacity of 0.5MT, Barik said in a statement here.
Subsequently a supplementary agreement was signed in July 1955 to set up 1MT plant. The coke oven battery no. 1 was commissioned on December 3, 1958, and the blast furnace was commissioned on February 3, 1959, the trade union leader said, adding the blast furnace of Bhillai steel plant was commissioned on February 4, 1959.
According to Sangram Parida, executive secretary, animal rescue and maintenance youth (army), leading social organisation of Rourkela, the first President of the country, Rajendra Prasad, inaugurated the plate written as “production of iron in the first blast furnace in public sector was inaugurated by Dr Rajendra Prasad — President of India on Tuesday, 3rd February 1959, at Rourkela, Orissa”.
