The Visakhapatnam steel plant - Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd is facing severe iron ore shortage as the rail track on the Kothavalasa-Kirandul (K-K) line has been damaged. Iron ore to the steel plant is sourced from the Bailadilla mines of NMDC through the K-K line.
There was a landslide at Anatagiri in Visakhapatnam district last month due to torrential rains. The railway bridge and the track were badly damaged in the eastern ghats and currently repair works are going on. Traffic on the line was stopped and iron ore is being supplied to the plant through an alternative route via Rayagada in Odisha.
However, according to plant sources, only two or three rakes are arriving every day and stocks are getting depleted at a very fast rate. Every day the plant needs 5-10 rakes of iron ore to maintain its present production levels.
Efforts are being made to replenish the iron ore stocks from Odisha or Karnataka. It is said by the railway sources that the traffic on the K-K line may be restored only in the second or third week of December and till then the steel plant has to contend with the problem.