Title - South Odisha demands new rail lines, wagon factory

More funds for the wagon factory proposed near Berhampur, new railway lines from Gopalpur to Rayagada and Berhampur to Sambalpur via Phulabani and a direct train from Berhampur to New Delhi – these demands figure in the pre-Railway Budget wish list of people of south Odisha.Rail users of south Odisha also expect direct train to run daily from Berhampur to Puri, daily train between Berhampur and Surat and upgradation of the Berhampur railway station into a model station.The announcement for the wagon factory at Sitalapalli, near Berhampur was made in the Railway Budget for 2011-12. In the last Railway Budget, an allocation of Rs 1 crore was made for the project. The state government had also identified around 100 acres of land for the project but the project has so far remained a non-starter.Similarly, the Planning Commission had accorded “in principle” approval to the Railway ministry’s proposal for the 258-km new railway line connecting Gopalpur with Rayagada in June 2012. The cost of the new railway line was estimated at Rs 1,392.32 crore.

“I have already apprised Railway minister Pawan Kumar Bansal on grievances of the people of the region and urged him to give priority to these projects,” said Renubala Pradhan, BJD MP (Rajya Sabha).

Pradhan had also submitted letters to Bansal recently, urging him to include some of these projects in the Budget. Senior Congress leader and former Union minister Chandra Sekhar Sahu said he had written to the Railway minister to provide more funds for these rail projects and sanction a train from Berhampur to New Delhi.