Summary:
BHUBANESWAR: The state government on Friday urged the Centre to expand the jurisdiction of East Coast Railway (ECoR) to cover all of Odisha.In a letter to railway minister Piyush Goyal on reorganization of railways in Odisha, chief minister Naveen Patnaik also sought the creation of three new divisional headquarters at Rourkela, Jajpur/Jajpur-Keonjhar Road and Rayagada under ECoR. ECoR was made functional in April 2013 with three divisions at Khurda Road, Sambalpur and Waltair.Since some parts of Odisha in undivided Koraput district are part of the Waltair railway division, there are chances these areas may also be covered under the new zone. Hence, the chief minister demanded that the entire state be brought under ECoR and the creation of a separate division at Rayagada.Under Rayagada division, the chief minister proposed joining the Nuapada-Gunupur line with the proposed extension to Theruvali/Rayagada, Rayagada-Titlagarh-Raipur, Koraput-Rayagada, Koraput-Jeypore-Jagdalpur-Kirandul, Lanjigarh Road-Junagarh and proposed lines in Malkangiri, Koraput and Nabarangapur.The chief minister, in his letter, also stated that expansion of ECoR has become a necessity in light of the recent industrial projects coming up in Odisha to ensure better coordination and facilitation of bulk customers.Stating that Odisha has been giving huge revenue to Indian Railways with its abundance of mineral wealth, he said the state has been neglected in terms of rail infrastructure development. "The proposed reorganization will help the railways in better delivery of services in the state in terms of both meeting the requirements of the large and medium freight customers, the aspirations of amenities for the people and also in expediting the project works," Naveen wrote in his letter.Emphasizing the need for a single entity for the entire state, Naveen said "such a move will create a lot of synergy and reduce barriers in coordination as well as mobility, which is a major objective and need for railways today".Naveen's letter was in view of the railway ministry's decision to set up a new zone, headquartered in Andhra Pradesh , which has lost the zonal headquarters of South Central Railway to Secunderabad following the bifurcation.The chief minister said there is a demand for the existing Waltair railway division (Visakhapatnam) to be taken out from the jurisdiction of ECoR to facilitate formation of a new railway zone in Andhra Pradesh..