Tribals’ agitation against the allotment of an iron-ore mine to the National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) continued in Chhattisgarh’s restive Dantewada district despite the state government’s efforts to resolve the issue.
The agitation entered the sixth day on Wednesday even as production in NMDC’s Bacheli-Kirandul complexes remained affected. The two complexes in Dantewada district with 25 million tonne per annum (mtpa) capacity contribute a lion’s share to NMDC’s total output.
Asserting that the Bailadila iron-ore deposit No 13 housed their deity, thousands of tribals, under the banner of Sanyukta Panchayat Samiti, had recently gone on an indefinite strike. They had blocked the