RailEnquiry

Railway Minister Mukul Roy has said that the Ministry has not received any proposals to resolve the problems being faced by Waltair Division of East Coast Railway.Members of the Visakhapatnam Railway Zone Sadhana Samithi, formed with representatives of various political parties with the objective of seeking the setting up of a separate railway zone with Visakhapatnam as headquarters, met the Railway Minister in New Delhi on Friday and drew his attention to the long-pending demand for the establishment of a separate zone with Visakhapatnam as headquarters.The delegation was led by Union Minister of State for Human Resource Development D. Purandeswari who represents Visakhapatnam in the Lok Sabha.The delegation also impressed upon Mr. Mukul Roy the need to set up a Railway Recruitment Board (RRB), introduction of special trains, re-routing of trains being diverted via Duvvada to Visakhapatnam, and running of an additional train to Araku to tap the tourist potential.“The Railway Minister responded positively to the demands.He, however, said that he was unaware of the problems as no proposals were received from the East Coast Railway Headquarters regarding the issues raised. He said that the GM would be directed to meet the Union Minister D. Purandeswari, and discuss the issues with her,” Samithi convener J.V. Satyanarayana Murthy (CPI) told The Hindu on phone from New Delhi.The Railway Minister announced that steps would be taken to develop Visakhapatnam as ‘world class station'. A committee would be formed to suggest the reorganisation of various railway zones. He, however, expressed the view that there should be only one zone in each state. He also asked the sadhana samithi leaders to take the issues to the notice of the ECoR. General Manager.Railway Board Chairman Vinay Mittal was also present. Samithi leaders Cheruvu Ramakotaiah (BJP), Anurag Kejriwal (Lok Satta) and K.V.K. Krishna Rao of Delhi Andhra Association were among those who were in the delegation.