BS reported that 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 Naxalites on October 25 damaged the pipeline near Chitrakonda on the Orissa and Andhra Pradesh border that had literally closed down company’s operations.

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.

As per report, Essar officials are running from pillar to post to convince the government agencies for getting security cover to start the repairing work. 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 Chhattisgarh police however said that since the matter is concerned with the limits of Andhra Pradesh and Orissa, they cannot intervene.

The company supplies high grade iron ore from its 8 million tonne per annum beneficiation plant near Kirandul to a pellet plant in Visakhapatnam. It is pumped as slurry through a 267 kilometer 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.

(Sourced from BS)