During the visit of Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw to Jharsuguda, a delegation of Rourkela BJP under the leadership of Nihar Ray met him and handed over a memorandum urging for setting up of a Rourkela Railway Division under the East Coast Railway zone.
In justification of the memorandum, it was apprised to the Minister that the people of Rourkela have been demanding for Rourkela as a separate Railway Division for so long. Besides, next to Bhubaneswar, Rourkela is the second largest city of the State and it fulfills all eligibilities for a Railway Division.
Bondamunda is the largest Railway Colony under Rourkela Municipal Corporation which is also considered as the second largest marshalling yard with all the infrastructure. The railway has more than 5,000 acres of land here with an ARM office. There are two Electric Loco sheds each in Rourkela and Bondamunda and a Diesel Loco Shed Carriage and wagon workshop, the memorandum said.
Apart from the workshop there are also several Technical Departments like OHE, Electrical and General Engineering and the best part is the township is having a Sub-divisional Railway Hospital with all the best medical facilities. Besides, Rourkela city has a large base of Government and private hospitals. Ispat General Hospital, which is managed by Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP) is also a referral hospital for Railway employees.
The other aspects for best choice are, the city has the biggest public sector, the Rourkela Steel plant and in and around large deposits of iron ore, coal and other minerals.
Last but not the least if Rourkela comes under ECoR and becomes a division then the works of many important projects like Talcher-Bimlagarh, Rourkela-Jharsuguda third lane etc. will be easier to complete quickly, the memorandum argued.
Ray said the Minister had given them positive response.
Among others, party leaders Jagabandhu Behera, Ankush Verma, Sk Mujaid, Saroj Das, Sakteswar Patra and Ashu Khuresi accompanied Ray.