Rourkela Steel Plant in grip of second COVID wave; 10 employees dead, 592 infected

ROURKELA:  The Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP) of SAIL finds itself in the vicious grip of the second Covid wave as nearly 10 employees have died and 592 infected in April so far. 

Following the first wave last year, the RSP had put in place all precautionary measures but being a large organisation, keeping the deadly virus at bay seems to be a challenging affair for the authorities.

President of BMS-affiliated Rourkela Ispat Karkhana Karmachari Sangh (RIKKS) HS Bal said at least 10 employees including an executive have succumbed to Covid-19 this month.

During the period, 592 employees have tested positive for coronavirus. An unspecified number of family members of the infected employees have also been infected.

Bal said Covid safety protocols are strictly adhered to inside the plant premises and advised all employees to voluntarily abide by the guidelines outside RSP for the safety of their families. 

With a large number of employees in home isolation or undergoing treatment, the RSP has been forced to reschedule operations in three shifts instead of the earlier four shifts in a day.

RSP now has about 11,400 non-executives and 1,540 executives apart from several thousands of contractual workers.  

It is being suspected that some employees contracted the virus outside and infected their RSP colleagues. 
RSP executives’ association president Bimal Kumar Bisi informed that the steel plant had earmarked around 160 beds including 10 ventilator ones at Ispat General Hospital (IGH) for treatment of its infected employees, dependents and former staff. At least half of the IGH beds are occupied. 

Bisi further said the second wave has proved to be very harsh for SAIL as the Bhilai Steel Plant alone has seen around 70 deaths followed by 10 fatalities at RSP.

Around 150 SAIL employees have died of Covid since last year. In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Bisi sought compassionate employment for kin of employees who have died due to Covid-19.

2,100 tonne LMO supplied in April

Employees of SAIL’s Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP) are working overtime to maximise production of liquid medical oxygen (LMO) and supply it to states reeling under the second Covid wave.

Earlier, LMO used to be dispatched only between 8 am and 5 pm, but in view of the emergency requirement and subject to tanker availability, the loading and despatch are now being done round the clock.

So far in April, RSP has supplied more than 2,100 tonne of LMO to different destinations in Odisha and states like Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.

However, inadequate availability of cryogenic tankers continues to be a problem.  To boost the morale of employees, RSP chief executive officer Dipak Chattraj accompanied by executive director (works) Pankaj Kumar visited the oxygen plant on Monday.

Chattraj said due to spirited efforts of the employees, RSP is able to contribute in the fight against Covid-19 at this crucial juncture.  

In normal circumstances, RSP used to produce gaseous oxygen for steel making and a small amount of LMO for its Ispat General Hospital.

With instruction from Union Minister for Steel and Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan, RSP has maximised its LMO production.