During his visit to Rourkela to inspect the progress of various projects, a delegation of Rourkela Railway Division Action Committee (RRDAC) under the leadership of its convenor Suman Dutta met Chairman, Railway Board VK Tripathy to urge for a special rail division at Rourkela.
In support of their demand, the delegation mentioned that Chakradharpur Division of South Eastern Railway has emerged as the highest revenue generating division in the country for a number of times. The sole reason for the achievement is the region comprises the mineral rich Sundargarh, Kendujhargarh and Jharsuguda districts of Odisha from where iron ore and other minerals are transported throughout the country. Besides, the region also houses a number of heavy industries including SAIL owned Rourkela Steel Plant, OCL-Rajgangpur; Tata Refractories, Adhunik Metalliks- Rourkela; L&T- Kansbahal , GOCL,Rourkela etc. which contribute a huge revenue to the Railways for transportation of raw materials as well as ï¬nished products, they said.
Odisha has got 2,495 km of railway route, of which 337 km- the highest in the State- passes through Sundargarh district. In addition to that Odisha has got 411 km of railway route out of the total 742 km of railway route of Chakradharpur Division, they said.
Only Sundargarh district generates about Rs 7,000 crore annually, which accounts for 40% of the total revenue generated by the Chakradharpur Division but a thin amount is spent in the district. Similarly, Jharsuguda is an emerging industrial hub with a number of operating mega projects, while a number of industries are in the offing. Kendujhargarh is popular for its innumerous mines. Even the Chief Minister of Odisha had also demanded for Rourkela Railway Division under ECoR on February 16, 2018 as Rourkela has sufficient infrastructure and potential to be the headquarters of the new division, they told.
Significantly in Bondamunda, the Railways has about 3,500 acres of land, more than 2,600 quarters and other infrastructure. Besides, there are many national and international institutions situated in Rourkela. If a special rail division at Rourkela consisting Sundargarh, Keonjhar and Jharsuguda district under East Coast Railway is constituted then there will be an ample of benefits in passenger services, they argued.
Above all the much-awaited Talcher-Bimlagarh Rail link project will be expedited which would be a boon to the districts of Sundargarh, Deogarh, Keonjhar and Angul, they added.
Hearing the demand, Tripathy said he would put up the matter with the Railway Minister and he is hopeful of a positive response from the latter as he had worked in Sundargarh district as an administrative officer and had a vast idea about the district.