Title - JAC to agitate for separate railway zone

MPs, Ministers and MLAs from north Andhra region should prevail upon the Railway Ministry and the Centre to accord priority to the region in the Railway Budget, felt the speakers at a discussion on Railway Budget 2013, organised by the Samaikhyandhra Political JAC at the Visakhapatnam Public Library here on Thursday.JAC State convener J.T. Rama Rao demanded that the MPs should tender their resignations, if necessary, to protest against the continued injustice being done to Waltair Division and Visakhapatnam and to press for the establishment of a separate Railway Zone with the city as headquarters.

‘Neglect of Waltair’:He said that agitations would be organised in a phased manner to protest against the deployment of the profits generated in Waltair Division to develop Sambalpur and Khurda Divisions while neglecting Waltair.He found fault with the peoples’ representatives for failing to check the flight of rail wheels factory to Rae Bareilli in Uttar Pradesh.

Wheels factory:Advisor to the JAC K. Ramachandra Murthy said that Visakhapatnam was the right place to set up the wheels factory as it has Railway land, steel plant and the necessary resources.

He felt that the disunity among the peoples’ representatives was responsible for the ‘sorry state of affairs’ on the railway front and expressed the view that they could draw a leaf from their counterparts in Odisha who were sinking their political differences when it came to development of their State.

JAC leaders Lagudu Govind, Palaka Sriram Murthy, Bobbadi Appa Rao, Peddada Ramana, K. Subba Rao and R. Srinivas were among those who attended.