BHAWANIPATNA: The Congress leaders have called for a dawn to dusk bandh call in Kalahandi on Wednesday demanding a railway wagon repair and maintenance factory at Narla, which was earlier announced in the Railway Budget.
Addressing mediapersons on Monday, the AICC secretary, Bhakta Charan Das said the wagon factory has been a long pending demand of people of the district. “It was decided that foundation stone for the factory would be laid at Chapatkhanda in Narla. However, that could not done following intervention of the Election Commissioner for the General Elections,” he said, adding that the establishment of the factory would have created employment for the local youths.
However both the State and Central Governments did not pay adequate attention towards the project, Das alleged. “Now there is a conspiracy to shift the proposed project to Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh on the pretext of absence of land and water in Narla.”
The Congress leader said river Sandol is just a km away from the proposed site if wagon factory and besides the State Government, two farmers of Chapatkhanda village had given undertaking to Indian Railways to offer their land for the factory.
Das alleged lack of sincerity on the part of the State Government, the ruling BJD MPs and the BJP-led NDA Government’s lack of political will for the development of a backward region like Kalahandi. He appealed people to observe the bandh peacefully and sought cooperation of all organisations and trade unions. After the bandh, the Congress leaders will stage demonstration at Bhubaneswar in front of the State Assembly.