Mining stalled in CCI quarry as workers flee

Guwahati, July 19 (UNI) Mining in the Cement Corporation of India's Bokajan factory in Assam's Karbi Anglong district has been stalled since the last three days following extremists' threat.

A senior officer in the CCI plant today said five officers of the Sonapahar quarry, the only quarry of the plant, had gone back to their native places in Bihar and UP while others were reluctant to work in the quarry, located about 18 km from the plant.

The fear psychosis gripped them after suspected KLNLF militants had abducted the CCI mine manager and ten other officials from the staff colony on July 15 last.

Mine Manager K N Jha died due to heart attack minutes after he was kidnapped. The other officials were released by the militants 8 km from the limestone quarry at Sonapahar in Dillai.

''This incident has escalated the fear among the officials. If the contractors and workers refuse to work in the quarry, I am afraid the plant will have to be shut down,'' the official said.

There are 27 regular employees in the limestone quarry of which none were eager to work even as the BSF is expected to set up a camp - to house a platoon of security personnel - near the quarry by tomorrow.

Official sources said the BSF has done the survey for the camp and the barrack would be ready by tomorrow.

The limestone stock in the CCI plant, by far the most profit-making plant of the CCI in the country - would last for ten more days.

Officials say if the officer and the labourers refuse to come to work by then, the plant will have to be shut down.

The persistent threats from extremists has also hit the Rs 110 crore ambitious expansion plan of the Cement Corporation of India (CCI) plant.

Official sources said that some companies like Voltaic Engineering and Mark, who have already done surveys for the expansion work, are now reluctant to go ahead with the project due to the persistent threats from insurgents.

Sanctioned by the Centre in March last, the mega expansion plan for the Bokajan unit, the most profit-making plant of the CCI in the country, will be used to double production from 600 to 1,200 metric tonnes a day.

The plan includes setting up of two grinding units at Lakhimpur and Silchar, besides a pollution control device and a modified crane.

As many as seven sick units of the CCI were shut down in 2005, but the Bokajan unit has been consistently posting profits. In the past 30 years, it has accumulated Rs 75 crore in profits. The other two profit-making units of the CCI are at Rajbon in Himachal Pradesh and Tandur in Andhra Pradesh.

UNI