Wednesday, February 17, 2010

A tale of prosperity... in the vicinity of terror

NMDC has some of the most mineral rich mines of india, but due to their location, employees have to live far from inhabitation and in the dreaded naxal belt. that makes nmdc’s endeavour to provide them a good quality of life truly challenging. Deepak Ranjan Patra reports...

Moving from the hustle and bustle of city life to uncover the true essence of India is undoubtedly an experience I look forward to. This is the part of India that I have read and heard about, but haven’t really witnessed. But in the context of the National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) township, my excitement was tempered with a sense of fear. After all, my destination was a place that had gained an unenviable reputation as being a happy hunting ground for Maoists. I was going to a township situated less than an hour’s drive from the Naxal-infected Dantewada town of Chattisgarh. The journey was no cakewalk either, from Delhi to Raipur (1,400 km) by train and then another 400 km by bus through the forests and hilly roads of Chattisgarh. The exhaustion finally got the better of me and I slept through the bus journey. When I got up, at my destination, I was in for a pleasant surprise. We were in the middle of a nicely built and well maintained precinct. One has to literally see it to believe that such a place exists inside the forests of Dantewada district.

Our first stop was the Kirandul Complex, a part of NMDC’s twin township at Bailadila Iron Ore Mines (BIOM) situated just 10 km away from the other township Bacheli (also owned by NMDC). They may seem like two small townships housing about 30,000 people, but their contribution to NMDC is a lot larger. Combined together, the mines (under Bacheli and Kirandul) with ore deposits woven around the hills and forests of the Bastar area (once known as Dandakaranya) produce almost 22 million tonnes of iron ore every year; 75% of the company’s annual iron ore mining. BIOM also has one of the largest reserves under the possession of NMDC, with nearly 1200 MT of high grade iron ore distributed over 14 deposits (5 are active at present and the company is in process to start a few more). However, not only has BIOM contributed to NMDC’s swelling pockets, but the range, called ‘The hump of an Ox’ in the local dialect, has also got a fair share in return.
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Source :
IIPM Editorial, 2009


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