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Our Bureau

Kolkata, July 9

The iron ore movement along the 450-km long Kirandul-Kottavalasa line (K-K line) under the East Coast Railway (ECoR) remained suspended again from the early hours of Tuesday as a section of the line near Bacheli in Dantewada district of Chhattisgarh has been blown, allegedly by Maoists.

Three locomotives and 11 wagons derailed as a result. Inquiries with ECoR reveal that it will take a few more days before normalcy can be restored. This is the second time in the past one month that the movement along the K-K line has come to halt.

On June 5, the Maoists, as part of their celebration of the Martyrs’ Week, had blown transmission towers in several places in Chhattisgarh, causing suspension of electricity supply to the rail network.

It took nearly two weeks to restore power supply and, thus, the rail movement on the route. In June last year also, the action by the Maoists crippled movement on the route for more than two weeks.

On the K-K line, passing through Chhattisgarh, Orissa and Andhra Pradesh, around 14-15 loaded rakes a day are moved, to facilitate transportation of iron ore to Visakhapatnam from the National Mineral Development Corporation’s mines located in Chhattisgarh, partly to meet the requirement of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant of Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd and partly for exports through Visakhapatnam port.

Meanwhile, as ECoR sources inform, coal loading at Talcher mines of Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd (MCL) too, has suffered a setback as the workers employed by the transport contractors are reportedly “not putting in their best”.

It might be recalled that movement and loading of coal in Talcher mines was badly hit in June due to transport workers’ strike, with support from a section of their employers.

It is now learnt that MCL authorities have deployed new contractors for transportation of coal from the mines to the nearest railheads.

However, the output, according to the ECoR sources, remains unsatisfactory – coal available being enough to load around 20 rakes against the normal 29 rakes a day.

“We’re as much as worried as TNEB, APGenco and NTPC, all power utilities depending on Talcher coal,” observes the ECoR sources.

“As it is, monsoon months are not best months for raising and transportation of coal.”

More Stories on : Railways | Minerals

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