Visakhapatnam Steel Plant

Being out here at the Madharam Dolomite Mine is quite different from being at the main Visakhapatnam Steel Plant site. We are located in Madharam, in the Khammam district of Telangana. It’s a mining area, so everything is covered in a fine layer of dust most of the time. The office of the Assistant General Manager is where we handle the day-to-day operations of the mine. It’s a rugged place. You see a lot of heavy machinery and trucks moving in and out all day long. The work is mostly about extracting the dolomite that the steel plant needs. We have a small team here, and because we are a bit isolated, we all know each other’s families and stories. The weather can be pretty harsh, very hot and dry, so we start early in the morning to beat the heat. We don't have the luxuries of a city office. It’s more about checking the equipment, managing the labor, and keeping track of how many tons we’re moving. Lunch is usually brought from home in tiffins and eaten together in the shade of the building. There’s no big signage or fancy entrance. It’s just a functional site where we do the mining work. It's a bit of a drive to get to the nearest big town, so we make do with what we have here. It’s simple, honest work that keeps the bigger steel plant running smoothly.