The train movement along the 450-km long, Kirandul-Kottavalasa (KK) line, used mainly for transportation of iron ore, continues to be affected following escalation of the Maoist activity in the Kirandul area, according to East Coast Railway (ECoR) sources. 

In fact, the situation has worsened in past couple of days, the sources add.

“We had suspended night running of trains, i.e from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m., along the K-K Line from May 30 on receipt of Maoist threat and intelligence inputs, hoping to resume normal movement after June 8, the last day declared for the threat to persist, but that did not happen”, said a spokesman for ECoR.

“The Maoists extended their period of threat and worse, they allegedly removed tracks over certain stretches of the railway network and damaged the locomotives crippling even day time movement”.

The Maoists reportedly also stormed into Bhansi railway station, about 18 km from Kirandul,  and took away the railway staff as hostage but later released them. The damaged tracks have since been restored and locomotives replaced. But the railway officials keep their fingers crossed. As a result, the running of freight trains on the route has become irregular even during day time and continues to remain totally suspended at night (from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m.).

Hardly eight to 10 rakes now run on the route during limited hours of the day against 16/17 in normal time.

The K-K line is used mainly for transportation of iron ore from NMDC's Bailadila mines, located in the Maoists-controlled Dantewada district of Chhattisgarh to Visakhapatnam, partly for exports through the port and partly to meet the requirement of Visakhapatnam steel plant of Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd and other  steel and sponge iron ore producers.

santanu@thehindu.co.in

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