A bauxite mine in Lohardaga. Telegraph picture

Ranchi, June 4: Mining, dispatch and transportation of bauxite from Pakhar mines in the Naxalite-hit Kisko police station area of Lohardaga district have come to a grinding halt since Wednesday evening after a group of rebels torched six vehicles.

“Mining and transportation activities have been put on a halt since June 1. Around 25 rebels owing allegiance to the CPI(Maoist) burnt down three trucks, an SUV and two earth-moving equipment around 5.30pm and partially destroyed another vehicle. They also fired in the air and beat up the drivers and helpers,” officer in charge of Kisko police station Munu Tudu told The Telegraph.

The vehicles belonged to a contractor and private operators working for Hindalco Industries Limited — an Aditya Birla Group company.

One of the richest bauxite mines in Lohardaga, Pakhar supplies ore to different units of Hindalco in and outside Jharkhand. The brakes on mining and transportation activities have put officials of the company’s Lohardaga mines division in a fix, with its units fearing imminent scarcity of bauxite, required for producing aluminium.

Tudu said the reason behind the Maoist onslaught was not known.

However, he did not rule out the possibility of the companies not paying levy to the rebels, adding that they were active in the area, about 25km from the district headquarters and more than 100km from Ranchi.

Besides Hindalco, a few other private companies also enjoy mining rights in Pakhar area. Sources said hundreds of trucks ply between Pakhar and Richiguta in Latehar and Lohardaga every day. However, none of the companies are carrying out mining activities since Wednesday.

Tudu added that the police were trying to help the company resume operations but to no avail, as fear was writ large among the employees and labourers.

According to sources, Balaji Associates, owned by one Atul Agarwal of Ranchi, executes mining work for Hindalco, while private agents transport the mineral from Pakhar to railway sidings at Richuguta and Lohardaga station. The bauxite is then transported to Renukoot in Uttar Pradesh, Muri and other processing plants of the company.

The bauxite-laden trucks are also the primary means of public transport in the area, as they also ferry people, especially labourers working in the mines, to Lohardaga.

Hindalco general manager (personnel and administration) R.B. Singh said the company was suffering huge losses because of the shutdown.

“We supply around 1,000 tonnes of bauxite from Pakhar, with more than 100 trucks plying daily. Everything has now come to a standstill,” Singh said.

He added that not only was the company incurring losses, but the state government too was losing out on revenue in lakhs of rupees through royalties. The general manager, however, denied receiving any extortion calls from the Maoists.

Sources said Lohardaga police had removed a picket, comprising 25 to 30 personnel, from near the mining area on January 26, fearing rebel attacks.

Notably, on May 3, as many as 11 police and paramilitary jawans were killed in neighbouring Senha police station area of Lohardaga in a series of landmine blasts, sending shock waves in the ranks of the state police.