The Bokaro district administration has imposed prohibitory orders within 200 metres of the Bokaro Steel Plant’s main gate after displaced persons seeking jobs blocked the plant’s entry points and disrupted operations. The order, issued by Chas sub-divisional magistrate Pranjal Dhanda under Section 163(1) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, took effect at 5 am on Sunday and will remain in force until further orders.
The restriction follows blockades by members of the Visthapit Apprentice Sangh and other organisations at the main gate and additional entry points to the steel plant. The administration said the protests obstructed the movement of employees, officers, contractual workers and essential services, affecting industrial activity and creating a law-and-order situation.
Under the order, the assembly of five or more people is prohibited within the restricted area. The administration has also barred the carrying of firearms, sticks, spears, swords, bows and arrows, digging implements and other weapons. Processions, rallies, meetings, sit-ins and demonstrations involving weapons, as well as activities that could disrupt industrial operations or public movement, have been prohibited.
Magistrates and police officers have been directed to enforce the restrictions and maintain orderly movement through the plant’s main gate. Unauthorised entry into or movement within the restricted zone is prohibited, with exceptions for magistrates, police officers and security personnel.
The administration said peaceful and orderly protests could continue at Two Tank Garden, the designated protest site, and urged the organisations not to block the plant gates. The direction places the dispute over employment and displacement within a wider administrative effort to protect access to a major industrial facility while retaining a designated space for protest.
Hundreds of displaced persons had blocked the plant gates while seeking regular employment, the reinstatement of displaced apprentices and a clear employment policy. The agitation coincided with the eighth day of Bokaro MLA Shwettaa Singh’s indefinite hunger strike. Functionaries of the BJP, Congress and JLKM extended support to the protest.
The blockade on Saturday halted operations at the blast furnaces, sinter plant and steel melting shops, according to the report. Bokaro Steel Plant estimated the resulting loss at Rs 30 crore a day. The disruption also affected the movement of workers and essential services connected to the plant’s operations.
Talks between the management and protesters remained inconclusive despite intervention by senior Congress leaders Keshav Mahto Kamlesh and Kumar Gaurav, along with finance minister Radha Krishana Kishore. The district administration’s order remains in force until further directions, while protests may continue at Two Tank Garden without blocking the plant’s gates.
