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| Raw material crisis hits Chhattisgarh sponge iron units |
| R Krishna Das / Kolkata/ Raipur Apr 07, 2010, 00:40 IST |
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Sponge iron industry in Chhattisgarh plunged into raw material crisis as production in nearly half the units had been suspended after disruption in the supply of iron-ore from Orissa.
"We have asked the state government to intervene as the deadlock in iron-ore supply will force small steel makers in the state to close down their units," President of Chhattisgarh Sponge Iron Manufacturers Association Anil Nachrani said.
Nachrani said that the Orissa-based iron-ore miners stopped the supply since four weeks. "The Orissa government's crackdown on illegal iron ore mines had resulted in the closure of several mines that had disrupted the supply," he added.
"Most of the sponge iron units in Raigarh and Bilaspur districts have suspended production," Nachrani said.
The 105 sponge iron units in the state require about 12 million tonnes of iron ore per annum. Of the total demand, the steel makers transport 9 million tonnes from private iron-ore miners of Orissa while the National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) supply 3 million tonnes.
Nachrani said NMDC was not supplying sufficient iron ore from its Dantewada mines. "We are demanding that NMDC should load at least eight rakes every day to maintain the supply for the local units as the mining major had been maintaining that they were short of rakes," he said. If the NMDC restores supply, it will bring some respite for the local units, Nachrani added.
A delegation of the Association today met senior state government officials and urged to intervene in the matter. The office bearers of the association told the state officials that closure of units would leave a million people jobless in the state.
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