The Wildlife Society of Odisha on Friday demanded sealing of the entire Renjda railway siding, where unclaimed iron ore worth crores of rupees have been buried, and transfer of all staffs of the railway station for a fair probe.

Dr Biswajit Mohanty and Anil Dhir of the society, at a Press conference here, also demanded police deployment at the siding during IBM investigation.

“The siding owner, the district administration and the Government are on a massive cover up operation. The exposure of this buried ore reveals that the mining scam is still going on in Odisha due to the active connivance of the local officials and higher ups in the Steel and Mines Department,” they alleged, adding, “The State Government has not acted on its promise made in the ATR to the Shah Commission Enquiry report that no illegal raising or transportation of minerals will be allowed in Odisha.”

Informing that a team led by Dhir visited the siding on October 18 and 19, the two activists alleged that the villagers were not allowed to the siding during IBM team visit. The villagers could have shown the investing team where iron ores have been buried, they pointed out. “Mafias are trying to remove the buried ore but due to vigilant attitude of the villagers they have failed to do so,” they said.

They too alleged that a three-member IBM team was shown only selected areas by police, DDM and the siding owner during the team’s visit on October 28. Mohanty and Dhir also demanded that a proper investigation should be made into the iron ore stock areas in the adjoining sidings at Roxy, Bimalagarh and Chandiposi as there is possibility of buried iron ore in these places.