No government agency is coming forward to provide security cover to the Essar group in repairing the pipeline damaged by the Naxalites about a month ago that had stranded company’s operation to transport iron-ore slurry from Chhattisgarh.
The company supplies high-grade iron ore from its eight-million tonne per annum (mtpa) beneficiation plant near Kirandul to a pellet plant in Visakhapatnam.
It is pumped as slurry through a 267-km pipeline, the second longest in the world, to the pellet plant.
From Visakhapatnam port, the raw material is shipped to the Hazira in Gujarat where the steel maker has a major facility.
The Naxalites on October 25 damaged the pipeline near Chitrakonda on the Orissa and Andhra Pradesh border that had literally closed down company’s operations.
Interestingly, Essar officials are running from pillar to post to convince the government agencies for getting security cover to start the repairing work.
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The villagers are reported opposing the repair work allegedly at the behest of Naxalites and refused to allow the entry of company officials to the site.
The company had recently come under the scanner after one of its contractor felled into police net while attempting to transfer cash to the Naxalites in Dantewada district of Bastar in September this year. The contractor, B K Lala alleged in his statement he was paying the money on behalf of Essar for repairing the damaged pipeline that rebels targeted in 2009.
The pipeline remained closed for nearly 18 months while the company had to incur a close of about Rs 1800 crore during the period.
The pipeline had been closed again since last one month even as Essar steel was accounting a loss of Rs 3 to 4 crore per day. The Essar officials had requested the government authorities in Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and Chhattisgarh. But none was coming forward to help the company.
The Chhattisgarh police however say since the matter is concerned with the limits of Andhra Pradesh and Orissa, they cannot intervene.
The company officials recently submitted a letter to the state government to probe the incident and provide security cover. But the local police in Dantewada were not approached.
“The Dantewada police have no information as the company has not made any request at the district level,” Dantewada Superintendent of Police Ankit Garg told Business Standard. After all, the matter is related to Orissa and Andhra police and hence the Dantewada police have no role to play, he added.