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Santanu Sanyal

Kolkata, Dec. 13 A section in the Indian Railways is not sure if the proposed PPP (public-private partnership) initiative with SAIL, NMDC and the Chhattisgarh Government to construct a 235-km-long broad-gauge line between Dalli Rajhara and Jagdalpur via Rowghat to expedite iron ore movement can be implemented in view of the intense Maoist activity in the area.

“The proposed stretch falls within the areas controlled by the Maoists who are out to destabilise everything,” observe railway sources, adding, “also, the terrain being hilly, the time to be taken for the construction can be long and the cost staggering.” The project is being discussed for nearly 10 years now, it is pointed out.

The sources particularly refer to the extremely difficult situation already being created by the Maoists on the 450-km-long Kirandul-Kottavalsa line under the East Coast Railway (ECoR). The line is used for transportation of iron ore from NMDC’s mines, largely located in the Chhattisgarh areas, to Visakhapatnam.

In past six months, hardly a month passed when normal movement of iron ore was not affected by one problem or the other, all created by the Maoists. It started in June, with the blowing up of electric transmission towers at several places in Chhattisgarh, suspending power supply to the railways and paralysing rake movement for nearly three weeks.

There was virtually no movement on the route in the first week of this month as Maoists derailed the locomotives, kidnapped the drivers, and uprooted the rail track over certain stretches, thus totally paralysing movement.

Subsequently, movement of iron ore resumed but partially, and only during the day time. The movement at night remained totally suspended. The railway authorities took the issue up with the Chhattisgarh Government but with little result. The Chhattisgarh Government too, it appears, is helpless.

The situation now is limping back to normal but the ECoR authorities, as the sources point out, are keeping their fingers crossed. The rail employees working in the area live under constant threat; sometimes they are taken as hostage.

No wonder that the ECoR has reduced the number of rakes and locomotives for operation on the route. As the situation stands, iron ore transportation on the Kiruandul-Kottavalsa Line is a difficult proposition, both operationally and financially. The cost of transportation is nearly four times the cost in the plains.

In the normal situation, iron ore throughput on the Kiruandul-Kottavalsa Line should be about 14/15 million tonnes annually which this year might drop to around 10 million tonnes or so, the railway sources estimate.

Meanwhile, the disruption in power supply by Gridco to Paradip port has also affected the mechanical operation of the port. Only manual handling is being undertaken now. ECoR, which also caters to the requirement of Paradip, has restricted the number of rakes carrying both coal and iron ore to the port, it is learnt.

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