In what may be termed as a major setback for the powerful Reddy brothers, the BS Yeddyurappa government in Karnataka banned export of iron ore from state’s ports starting Thursday.According to reports, ban on export of iron ore comes in the wake of charges of illegal mining by state’s all powerful Reddy brothers.The ban aims to check illegal mining in the state.

The state government ordered closure of the ports, except in Mangalore, which falls under Central jurisdiction, to check illegal export of iron ore.The Yeddyurappa government recently landed in trouble after the Opposition Congress and JD-S legislators staged a massive protest inside the state assembly over illegal mining

A few days ago Yeddyurappa met the Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and asked him to ban the export of iron ore from the country.Karnataka government urged the Centre to ban export of iron ore and find ways to create value addition for natural resources within the country.Raising the issue of illegal mining at the National Development Council meeting, Yeddyurappa said despite efforts by various state governments, these problems were persisting across the states.Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa says this is the only way to check illegal mining in the state.

The current level of production of iron ore in the state is around 49 million tonnes -- 70 per cent in the form of fines and 30 per cent in the form of lumps.