BJD MPs on Tuesday met Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu in New Delhi and placed the State’s demand for enhanced allocations of funds for the State in the ensuing Railway Budget.
The MPs led by Bhartruhari Mahtab and Prasanna Patsani met Prabhu and submitted a memorandum demanding an allocation of Rs 5,576.50 crore in the Budget.
“The Minister gave a patient hearing to our demand and assured us for more allocation,” said Mahtab.
The MPs also urged the Minister for running of a Koraput-New Delhi via Jagdalpur and Jagadalpur-Bhubaneswar via Koraput passenger train.
The MPs too urged Prabhu to expedite the process of making the Bhubaneswar railway station as world class.
“The MPs apprised me about the demand and I would try for more allocation to Odisha,” said Prabhu.
On December 2, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu for a Rs 5,000-crore package for the State.
Patnaik maintained that though the State generated over Rs 14,000 crore during 2014-15, the railway route length and rail density are below the national average and substantially lower compared to the neighbouring States.