BHUBANESWAR: Drawing attention to years of neglect to Nabarangpur and Malkangiri, Gourachandra Tripathy, a senior citizen, has begun a silent protest over lack of rail connectivity to the two tribal districts in the state.
Tripathy, who is also the convenor of the Dandakaranya Vikash Mahamancha has launched a silent satyagraha in front of Rail Sadan in the state capital seeking immediate completion of Nabarangpur-Jeypore-Malkangiri railway project.
“Both Nabarangpur and Malkangiri continue to remain without basic railway connectivity even after 78 years of India’s independence,” Tripathy said.
He alleged that though Nabarangpur-Jeypore-Malkangiri railway line, proposed in 2016, has already undergone surveys and received administrative approvals besides repeated mention in railway budgets, parliament discussions and in election manifestos, the project has neither received full financial sanction nor a clearly defined completion timeline, causing it to remain stalled for years.