Due to lack of the raw material, Vedanta Aluminium Ltd (VAL) announced a temporary shut down of its refinery at Lanjigarh in Odisha’s Kandhamal district.

Highlighting the acute shortage VAL Chief Operating Officer, Mukesh Kumar said that “We have shut down the refinery for the time being today due to acute scarcity of bauxite. It is a painful decision but It is a temporary closure”.

Due to shortage of raw material, The company was running the refinery by utilising only 35 to 40 per cent of its 1 mtpa capacity. Company would resume production as soon as it get bauxite.

The company requires 10,000 MT of bauxite every day to operate its 1 mtpa capacity.

Odisha government which in its MoU with the aluminium major had committed to supply bauxite has expressed its inability to come to the rescue of the company immediately.

Closure of the refinery would hit the livelihood of about 6,500 people, including 550 employed directly, 5,000 engaged indirectly and 1,000 self-employed in and around the plant, As per impact study revealed.