IANS reported that iron ore transportation by NMDC Ltd was affected in Chhattisgarh on the second day of a Maoist shutdown on Sunday.

A senior NMDC official in Bacheli told IANS that “The transportation of iron ore has been hit by up to 20% of daily dispatches of some 48,000 tonnes because the railways have refused to provide rakes during night, fearing attacks by Maoists.”

The guerrillas had damaged tracks at two locations in Dantewada district Saturday, which had disrupted traffic for several hours between Kirandul and Visakhapatnam.

NMDC has several mines at Bacheli and Kirandul hilly areas of Dantewada, which produce 75% to 80% of its total annual iron ore output.

The outlawed Communist Party of India Maoist had called for a 48 hour shutdown in several central and eastern parts of the country Saturday to protest against the arrest of its three central committee members in Bihar last month.

(Sourced from IANS)