Vizag Steel Plant donates Rs.5 crore for cyclone relief

Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP) on Thursday donated Rs.5 crore for relief works in cyclone-hit areas of north coastal Andhra.

Rashtriya Ispat Nagam Limited (RINL), the corporate entity of VSP, has donated the money to the Chief Minister's Relief Fund.

P. Madhusudan, chairman and managing director of RINL, Thursday presented the cheque through union Urban Development Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu to Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu.

The two leaders led hundreds of citizens in candle and torch light march Wednesday night to show solidarity with victims of cyclone 'Hudhud', which battered this port city.

The plant, which is the biggest central public sector enterprise in the state, suffered extensive damage due to the cyclone.

It had to shut operations when the cyclonic storm hit the coast Oct 12 and is yet to resume production.

According to company officials, it suffered losses of over Rs.250 crore. They expect the plant to resume operations by month-end. The plant, which has an annual production capacity of 6.3 million tonnes of steel, also lost 20 lakh trees in the cyclone.

Bhashyam Educational Institutions and Shri Food Exporters also donated Rs.1 crore each to the relief fund.