NMDC resumes iron ore supply after hit by Maoist celebrations
By IANSFriday, December 11, 2009
RAIPUR - State-run National Mineral Development Corp (NMDC) has resumed supplying iron ore to clients after dispatches were stopped over perceived threats of Maoist attacks.
Officials at NMDC, Indias largest iron ore producer, said rakes were not available at night between Dec 2-8 because the railways had cancelled goods train freight fearing attacks by outlawed Maoists at Kirandul and Bacheli mining complexes.
Maoists observed a weeklong celebration to mark the ninth anniversary of its military wing, the People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army.
As a result of the perceived threat from them and cancellation of night freight, NMDC’s supplies fell by 25-30 percent during the period, the officials said.
The NMDC complexes at Kirandul and Bacheli are based some 400 km south of Chhattisgarh capital Raipur in Dantewada district, one of India’s worst-hit by Maoist violence.
“Nearly 15,000 tonnes of iron ore are transported daily from Kirandul and supplies fell by about 25 percent,” L.B. Singh, NMDC’s joint general manager of production at Kirandul, told IANS over phone.
According to a senior official at Bacheli, supplies from the unit fell by about 30 percent.
However, exports to Japan and other Asian nations were unaffected during the period, the officials said.
