Keonjhar: Tension was palpable in the mining area under Daitari police limits of Keonjhar district after members of two truck owners’ associations clashed Monday over the distribution of loading tokens for transportation of iron ore from the Daitari iron ore mines operated by the Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC) in Keonjhar. Heavy police deployment is in place to prevent any escalation. Five platoons of police force, led by an additional superintendent of police (ASP) and two sub-divisional police officers (SDPOs) as well as four inspectors, have been stationed in the area.
Sources said a newly formed tipper owners’ association took charge Sunday and a dispute arose over the distribution of loading tokens. Allegations have emerged that some affluent members of the new association attempted to take over loading operations while bypassing the old association. The conflict escalated when the new group allegedly sought to exclude the old association from mining operations and seize control of ore transportation. The face-off has prompted the old truck owners’ association to allege that the new group is illegal and that government officials registered it fraudulently.
Meanwhile, the new association has countered these claims accusing the old group of exploiting truck owners and failing to support any peripheral development, allegedly due to corruption. Keonjhar ASP Dilip Kumar Nayak stated that the situation remains under control and no untoward incident has been reported. He confirmed that the loading and transportation of minerals are proceeding peacefully as per tokens distributed by buyers.