There is a move for a bifurcation of the East Coast Railway (ECoR) with the Centre initiating efforts for formation of a new Waltair Division by withdrawing the Waltair (Visakhapatnam) division from the ECoR jurisdiction. The initiative has gone fast with the Railway Board having sought opinions from the MPs of Odisha in this regard. Besides, the board, in a letter to the State’s Chief Secretary, has sought to know the stand of the State Government in this matter, reliable sources said.
The sources said the State Government, in a letter to the Railway Board on April 18 this year, has reiterated its demand to allocate three new divisions to the ECoR if the board decides to exclude the Waltair division from its jurisdiction. The MPs from the State have also replied in the same vein to the Railway Board, said BJD MP Balabhadra Majhi.
It may be pointed out that with the reorganisation of Andhra Pradesh, the Railway Board has formed a committee to conduct a ground study on possible reorganisation of the Railways. The Committee has proposed bifurcation of the ECoR by excluding the Waltair division from its jurisdiction and creation of a new division in Seemandhra (the residual Andhra Pradesh).
All political leaders of Andhra Pradesh, including Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, and several organisations have put pressure on the Centre stating that justice is not meted out to the Waltair division, which is presently under the ECoR. A blueprint for the ECoR’s bifurcation has already been prepared, available information said. The move has come as a rude shock to Odisha.
The Waltair division, which was brought under the ECoR jurisdiction in 2003, has over 30 railway stations in Odisha including Koraput and Rayagada. Besides, a number of industrial units also come under this division. Out of a total of 1,106 km of rail route under Waltair division, 37 per cent (410 km) of rail route passes through Koraput and Rayagada.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, in a letter to the Railway Board last month, had demanded creation of three new divisions for the ECoR if it takes away the Waltair division from it. He said the three new divisions should come up either at Rourkela or Jharsuguda, Jajpur-Keonjhar or Bhadrak and Rayagada for empowerment of the ECoR.
He said the proposed Rourkela or Jharsuguda division should comprise Jareikela-Rourkela-Jharsuguda-Belpahar, Rourkela-Bandhamunda-Barsuan and Rourkela-Nuagan sections; Jajpur-Keonjhar or Bhadrak division should comprise of Jaleswar-Baleswar-Bhadrak-Jhakhapura, Jhakhapura-Bansapani-Padapahara-Gua-Barbil and Rupsa-Bangiposi sections while the Rayagada division should comprise of Nuapada-Gunupur (including the proposed Therubali-Rayagada scetion), Rayagada-Titlagarh-Khariar Road, Koraput-Jeypore-Jagdalpur, lanjigarh-Junagarh, including the proposed rail routes in Koraput, Malkangiri and Nabarangpur districts.