BHUBANESWAR: An official notification to shift Bhubaneswar office of the Central Organisation for Railway Electrification (CORE) to Bangalore has evoked sharp reactions from BJD, Congress and CPI (M) on Friday.A letter issued on Wednesday signed by Bhupender Singh Bodh , executive director of Railway Electrification, said member traction of Railway Board and chairman of the board has approved for transferring of railway electrification’s (RE) Bhubaneswar office (RE/BBS) to Bangalore. “RE/BBS projects will be closed after March 31 this year and manpower will be transferred to other projects,” said the letter.Congress spokesperson Satya Prakash Nayak addressing a press conference here said the CORE’s Bhubaneswar office has received excellence certificate for the year 2017-18 for successfully completing the electrification work in time and it has around six projects in its kitty. The project office has created a record in the country by conducting double decker electrification testing in Jakhapura-Daitari rail line in 2008, he added.“It is unfortunate that the railway officials took this step to close such an excellent 22-year-old project office. BJP-led government has done this to woo the voters of Karnataka in the upcoming elections. We will protest this decision and make it an issue during election campaigning,” he added. BJD spokesperson Sasmit Patra said the BJP has always been against the development of the state by shifting projects and offices from Odisha to other states. “The Railways had shifted its proposed wagon factory in Kalahandi district to Andhra Pradesh in 2016. Recently, it has bifurcated Waltair division of the East Coast Railway (ECoR) to create a new rail zone in Andhra Pradesh. Now it took a decision to shift the CORE office to Bangalore. It clearly shows the Central government’s anti-Odisha attitude,” he added.Patra said with the shifting of this office, the electrification work of railways will be affected. “Around 250 temporary staff may lose their jobs. We strongly condemn this move by the BJP in power especially when the Model Code of Conduct for election is in force,” he added.Communist Party of India (Marxist) workers led by senior leader Janardan Pati staged a demonstration in front of the CORE’s chief project director’s (CPD) office here on Friday protesting the decision to shift Bhubaneswar office to Bangalore. “We will take up the issue with the Chief Electoral Officer here and Election Commission of India about the decision to shift the office when the model code of conduct for election is enforced across the country. I appeal all the political parties to protest the decision in one voice,” said Pati.

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