| Bastar's Dantewada district "" a Maoist hotbed "" has units of major companies, including the National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) and Essar. |
| Both companies had to bear huge losses after Maoist guerrillas blew up power transmission towers, plunging the region into darkness. |
| Production came to a standstill and could be resumed only after 11 days on June 12. The railways that ferry iron-ore from the region to the Visakhapatnam port also bore the brunt of the disruption in power supply. |
| The two-day economic blockade on June 26-27 thus has only worsened matters for companies and the district administration. There are fears that industries would be targeted during the blockade. |
| The rebels have already announced their opposition to the proposed steel plants of Tata and Essar in Bastar, besides special economic zones (SEZs) in general. |
| Train drivers and guards had submitted a memorandum to the authorities for halting night operations on the Kirandul-Visakhapatnam section for the next two days. |
| "Security personnel have been put on alert and additional forces deployed in Dantewada and Bijapur districts," Bastar IG RK Vij said. A high-level meeting was also convened today to chalk out a strategy to deal with the blockade, he added. |
| Night operation of all trains on Patna-Gaya, Fatuha-Islampur and Khagaria-Rosera sections of East Central Railway (ECR) will remain suspended tonight and tomorrow in view of the economic blockade. |
| "Traffic on all these routes will remain suspended as a precautionary measure to ensure the safety of passengers," an ECR press release said. |
| Routes of 8102 Jammutawi-Tatanagar Express and 3025 Howrah-Bhopal Express have been changed. The release said if need arose, more trains would be cancelled. |
| The banned outfit has called the blockade in Bihar and Jharkhand. |
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