BHUBANESWAR: The East Coast Railway (ECoR) has set a target to close all unmanned level-crossings (ULCs) in Khurda Road division by the end of March this year. Now, the division has 10 such ULCs.The Khurda Road division has major stations and railway sections, including Bhubaneswar, Puri, Cuttack , Khurda Road, Bhadrak and Berhampur. At present, there are no ULCs near Bhubaneswar and Cuttack.Sources in ECoR said there were 19 ULCs in the division by April 1 last year and nine of these were closed by December. "The Railway Board wants us to close all ULCs by 2020. Safety at level-crossings will get the highest priority," said Brijmohan Agarwal, divisional railway manager (DRM), Khurda Road.Out of the 10 ULCs, six will be closed by the construction of limited height subways or railway underpasses. These ULCs are located between Talcher and Angul, Kuhudi-Gangadharpur, Motori-Delang, Badabandha-Paradip, Naraj-Barang and Ganjam-Chatrapur.Two ULCs - in Delang-Bira Purusottampur and Khurda Road-Motori - will be closed by the diversion of the road leading to them to nearby manned level-crossings. The last two crossings - between Tomka and Keonjhar section - will be converted to manned level-crossings."The division has closed 14 ULCs in 2013-14, 21 in 2014-15, 19 in 2015-16 and six in 2016-17. We are going to ensure there are no ULCs in Khurda Road division after March," said the DRM.Sources said 43 people had been killed at ULCs under ECoR in the last six years.

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