Newindpress

Mangalore, Jul 10: Sound logic for sure, is not the guiding principle in business of transporting iron ore fines from hinterland to New Mangalore Port (NMP).

Hassan-Mangalore rail, under South Western Railway Zone, commissioned for freight traffic from May 2005 was seen as an ultimate solution by all those who believed railways would carry all the ore mined in Bellary-Hospet and Chitradurga regions. That did not happen. On the contrary, there has been a dip in railbound cargo since May onwards.

The monthly average of railwaybound cargo hovering between 55,000 and 65,000 metric tonnes has slid down to 35,722 metric tonnes in June (as on June 27).

But the ore for KISCO increased from 1.19 lakh tonnes in May to 1.35 lakh tonnes in June. And 1,000 trucks loaded with iron ore fines continue to ply daily to New Mangalore port and back. The number of trucks would have been more if not for the exsiting ban on movement of trucks at Charmadi Ghats.

Sources in Mangalore Railway confirmed the dip in ore traffic but blamed it on rigid policies of department. A trader has to engage an entire train with 70 wagons (each of 22 tonnes capacity) to dispatch the cargo. ‘‘Railways are interested in one train-load and not in one wagon-load,’’ sources explained.

Thus Railways department not only failed to exploit the potential here but also lost cement cargo in Tamil Nadu and Kerala states, sources said. The mine owners instead of mounting pressure on Railway department succumbed to the lobby thriving on a parallel economy. ‘‘Mine owners found it more convenient to overload trucks, grease few palms here and there,’’ NMPT sources on condition of anonymity told this website's newspaper.

NMPT is expecting to handle a high target of 4.5 million metric tonnes of iron ore fines this fiscal. And Railways has allowed a golden chance slip from its fingers.