KOLKATA (miningweekly.com) – Indian miner NMDC’s iron-ore assets at Dantewada in the central state of Chhattisgarh came under attack from ultra-left-wing extremists on Sunday.
According to reports available from the district, the ultra-left extremists, popularly known as naxalites, stormed into the iron-ore mining facility at Dantewada and set fire to trucks and dumpers before fleeing into the adjacent dense forests.
A statement issued by the state police said that the attack started Sunday morning when ultra-left extremists stormed the NMDC facility. Para-military and state police were rushed to the site.
Police combed the forests in the vicinity to flush out and capture the extremists, the statement said.
The state police said that the extremists active in Chhattisgarh were “under pressure” ever since a para-military permanent camp had been set up near Dantewada and the latest attack was part of the extremists' effort to show their presence in the region and boost morale of the cadres.
The Sunday attack followed close on heels of a similar attack a day earlier when four vehicles were set on fire close to the iron-ore mining site, according to police sources.
During Sunday’s attack, nine vehicles, six dumpers and JCB excavators were set on fire by the extremists.
Sources said that the extremists draw support and sustenance from a section of local population opposing mining in the region. Last month, the police had to open fire on a mob of locals protesting against setting up a security camp close to the mining site.
Earlier in the year, NMDC had to stop operations of five iron-ore mining facilities in the face of opposition from local population protesting against a new mining project affecting a hill in the region considered scared by the locals.
Early last week, two extremists were killed in the course of police operations across Chhattisgarh. This was as per ‘shoot on sight’ orders recently issued to the state police and para-military to check and control extremists’ violence across the state. This order comes alongside deployment of unmanned aerial vehicles across the state and over mining projects to keep tabs on movement of extremists, and deployment of the para-military-wing's rapid action force.