Vijayawada: Mines and excise minister Kollu Ravindra on Tuesday urged owners of granite cutting and polishing units to immediately withdraw their strike and resume operations, stressing that the workers dependent on the industry were suffering due to the shutdown.

Addressing representatives of the Granite Cutting and Polishing Units Associations from the erstwhile Guntur and Prakasam districts at the Secretariat, the minister assured that all legitimate issues raised by the industry would be addressed without delay. Ministers Gottipati Ravikumar and Dola Balaveeranjaneya Swamy, along with MLAs Eluri Sambasiva Rao and B N Vijay Kumar, were present at the meeting.

The association representatives highlighted the financial burden caused by the uniform sintering fee levied on all grades of raw material, requesting the government to rationalize the system. They said that while industries were committed to fulfilling obligations to the government, the current structure was rendering operations unviable.

In response, Ravindra announced the formation of a high-level committee comprising the joint director (mining), the district DMGO, a representative from the seigniorage collection agency and two members from each association to study and resolve key issues faced by the units. The minister directed the committee to hold consultations with stakeholders and submit a detailed report within one week.

The minister reiterated that the government was committed to protecting both industry interests and the livelihood of workers. “All concerns will be examined and resolved fairly. There should be no disruption to production,” he said, urging entrepreneurs to restore normalcy immediately.