KENDRAPARA: The coastal district is inching closer towards the much-awaited railway connectivity. On Saturday, the sight of an engine rolling down the newly-laid tracks in Kendrapara under the Haridaspur-Paradip railway line project had the locals enthused.
People in large numbers gathered to witness the electric railway tower engine that made its way through the 42-km railway line from Haridaspur to Kendrapara.
The 82-km Haridaspur-Paradip railway line will pass through Jajpur, Kendrapara and Jagatsinghpur districts and is likely to be completed by December this year, said managing director of the railway project Prasant Kumar Mishra.
More than 87 per cent work on the project has been completed with laying of 64-km railway track. Tracks on the remaining 18 km will be completed soon, he added.
Currently, installation of signboards, telecommunication systems and construction of railway level crossing is going on.
So far, 31 bridges over rivers, canals and other water bodies and 164 minor bridges for the project have been completed and construction of three more small bridges is on.
On completion, the rail distance between Daitari and Banspani iron ore belt and Paradip port will be reduced by half.
Sanctioned in 1996-97, the railway line is aimed at catering to the smooth movement of freight, export of finished products of steel plants and imported coking coal from Paradip to the industries.
The industries located in Duburi and the iron ore deposits in Keonjhar district are in proximity to the rail link, added Mishra.
The then railway minister Nitish Kumar had laid foundation stone of the project on April 4, 1999 near Marshaghai in Kendrapara district.
He had then said the project would be completed by 2004.
“However, due to negligence of Central government, the railway project was delayed by more than 16 years”, alleged president of Kendrapara Citizens Forum, Amar Biswal.
In the past the Railway Ministry allocated meagre funds for the project as a result of which, it moved at snail’s pace.
In 2015, the state government had demanded Rs 300 crore for the project to include Kendrapara district in the railway map.
But the Railway Ministry had thrown a spanner in the project by allotting a meagre amount of Rs 36.8 crore.
However, the Centre had sanctioned a total of Rs 200 crore during 2016 and 2017.
Though the Odisha government had sought Rs 100 crore for the project in 2018, the Ministry honoured the state’s demand by allotting Rs 200 crore, said BJP leader, Alekha Kumar Jena.