Iron ore loading in Orissa’s Banspani-Daitari area hit

Kolkata: The rake loading of iron ore in Orissa’s Banspani-Daitari area served by the East Coast Railway (ECoR) has remained suspended for the past few days due to the non-availability of ore. The district administration in Keonjhar has imposed restriction on the movement of ore in view of the critical road condition in the area.

Indents cancelled

As a result, as many as 1,200 indents pending with ECoR for iron ore loading have been cancelled. These indents were placed by both exporters and domestic consumers of ore. Currently, no indent for loading iron ore in Banspani-Daitari area is pending with ECoR.

ECoR on an average loads three rakes a day in the Banspani-Daitari area, though it can load up to five rakes a day. There are as many as 12 railway points in the area where ore is brought by road from the mines for loading into the rakes. The restriction clamped by the district administration has thrown everything out of gear.

Some of the mines served by South Eastern Railway have sidings, i.e., rail connections right up to the mine heads to facilitate rake loading but ECoR does not have similar connectivity in the Banspani-Daitari area. As a result, road-bridging is unavoidable.



The mine-owners in Banspani-Daitari are not in a position to have their own sidings either, the land acquisition being the biggest stumbling block. The land in the area belongs to the tribals.

Some of the domestic consumers have been badly hit in the present situation. For example, ECoR loads about 20 rakes a month for Nilachal Ispat. The loading has remained suspended for the past several days. The problem has been compounded by the fact that the prospect of getting ore from the mines served by the South Eastern Railway too does not seem very bright. ECoR has taken up the matter with the state government as well as exporters and domestic consumers, it is learnt.