Blockade hampers iron ore traffic on East Coast Rly

Blockade by the Maoists in the Dantewada district of Chhattisgarh has taken its toll on the iron ore movement along the 450-km long Kirandul-Kottavalasa line (K-K Line) under the East Coast Railway (ECoR).

For the past few days, rail movement of the ore, particularly at night, has remained suspended. The situation is likely to continue for few more days, according to ECoR sources. Normally, 13 to 14 rakes loaded with iron ore are moved on the route every day, which has now dropped to 10-11. Stocks have built up at various loading points on the railway route and ECoR is unable to clear them even by pressing into operation more rakes than before. What has been upsetting for ECoR is that the movement has been hit at a time when the zonal railway is upbeat and there has been no rainfall in the area for the past several days. Normally, during this time of year, an active monsoon plays havoc with rake movement on the K-K Line. The situation being different this year, ECoR is hoping to improve its daily average loading.