The Union Government’s decision to bifurcate the Waltair Division from the East Coast Railway (ECoR) has been strongly opposed by various political parties in the State.
Opposing the decision, the Samajwadi Party has pointed out that the bifurcation would impact the economy of both the ECoR and the State as budgetary provisions for railway improvement would be lessened for Odisha.
It a letter to Railway Minister Piyush Goyal, SP State president Rabi Behera demanded that the decision be withdrawn or else two ew zones, Jharsuguda-Rourkela and Jajpur-Keonjhar, be included in the ECoR. He also demanded that minerals-reach zones of Rourkela, Bonei and Ib valley should come under the East Coast Railway.
Pradesh Congress Committee president Niranjan Patnaik termed the Centre’s decision as anti-Odisha. The Narendra Modi Government has discriminated against Odisha in the railway sector knowingly, he alleged.
Patnaik threatened that his party would launch an agitation protesting against the decision.
Notably, Goyal had on Wednesday announced a new railway division named South Coast Railway with its headquarters at Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh. The new zone would comprise the existing Guntakal, Guntur and Vijayawada divisions. It would also include around half of the Waltair Division of the ECoR. The rest of the Waltair Division would become a separate division with its headquarters at Rayagada which would remain under the ECoR.
Notably, earlier in February 2018, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had also urged the Centre to consider expanding the jurisdiction of the ECoR to unify Odisha under one zone.