Only Rs 40 cr to Khurdha-Balangir line : KKD Protest Across Kosal

The KOSAL KRANTI DAL and ALL KOSAL STUDENT UNION (AKSU) organised a Rail Roko at Balangir station on 20th March 2012 in protest of the meagre allocation of fund for the 20 year old Balangir-Khurda railway line..The rail roko was withdrawn after the local police intervene.

Political reactions across Balangir:-

“It’s shocking that the Central Government neglected Odisha again. Giving a mere Rs 40 crore for the Khurda-Balangir rail line is absolutely shameful and a sheer neglect of the genuine demands of the people of western Odisha,” said BJD MP Kalikesh Narayan Singh Deo here.

Raising the fare will badly hurt the poor people of India, he added.

“The allocation of Rs 40 crore for the rail line is too ‘meagre’ and we condemn the apathetic attitude of the Central Government towards the people of Balangir and this region. If the allocation goes in this way, it will take many long years to complete the Khurdha-Balangir rail project,” lamented Bhavani Satpathy of Balangir Citizens’ Committee.

The Railway Board chairman had assured of looking into the project, when a delegation comprising Baisnab Parida, Prasanna Patsani, Sivaji Pattnaik, Rudramadhab Ray and Bhavani Satpathy met him in New Delhi in December, 2011.

He also assured to run the railway from Bhubneshwar to Begunia, besides commencement of work from Balangir side, Satpathy said. However, not a single assurance given by chairman to the delegation was fulfilled, Satpathy pointed out.

The allocation for Khurdha-Balangir railway line must be substantial every year. We demand at least Rs 200 crore for the rail line annually and a specific time limit to complete it, said Kosal Kranti Dal president Promod Mishra.

The rail line which would serve as a linkage between coastal region and western parts of Odisha, besides ensuing economic development, has been ignored and a meagre allocation has been made this year. The announcement of setting up a railway wagon factory in Sitapali in Ganjam is somewhat “surprising” and it should have been set up anywhere in western Odisha, Mishra said further.

Photo Courtesy :- Swadhin Mishra

36 km in 16 yrs! Tardy progress in Khurda Rd-Balangir Railway line

With the Indian Railway Board sitting over the proposal of the East Coast Railway (ECoR) since three years the much needed Khurda-Road-Balangir railway line has made a tardy progress much to the chagrin of the people of the State.

“Its’ shocking to know that though the project was sanctioned in 1994-95, the Indian Railways have funded only 36 km till date,” reveals Minister of Planning and Coordination Ananga Udaya Singh Deo.

“While 0-36 km was sanctioned 16 years ago, 36-112 km connectivity proposal is yet to be sanctioned,” rued Singh Deo.

IRB is sitting over the proposal of ECoR since 2007 to sanction 36-112 km rail line with a cost of `316.67 crore, revealed sources. The ECoR submitted the proposal on January 25, 2007 and pursuing the same for last three years with the IRB. Singh Deo in a letter to the IRB Chairman has requested to sanction the proposal and earlier he has also talked to him on this count.

As Khurda Road-Balangir Railway line is the most important connectivity between coastal and western Odisha, the Minister was all along bating for the same, said sources in the ECoR. With the snail’s pace the project is moving, its’ project cost is bound to go up from the present level of `1,000 crore, said an official in the Department of Commerce and Transport.

According to the ECoR, earthwork and construction of bridges in 0-36 KM is in progress and it is expected that it will be commissioned in 2010-11.

However 36-112 KM stretch fate is unclear with the apathy of IRB, lamented the official. Indian Railway authorities have been approached by the Government of Odisha to sanction `300 crore in 2010-11 for the project, where as Rs 120 crore has been allotted by the Ministry of Railways (MOR).