JAIPUR: Construction work on Haridaspur-Paradeep railway project remained affected for the third consecutive day on Friday as hundreds of residents, including women of three villages in Barachana block, continued their dharna near Gobandia-Badheidanda demanding construction of a railway under bridge.
The protest is being led by Jajpur unit of Naba Nirman Krushak Sanagthan (NKS). NKS State assistant coordinator Nimai Charan Ray said around 3,000 people of Gobandia, Chhatisa and Palei villages would be badly hit after completion of Haridaspur-Paradeep railway project.
The new railway line is being laid through the agriculture fields of villagers which is preventing them from carrying out farm work, their only source of livelihood. While farm lands of villagers are located on the other side of the railway track, the lone pathway to the fields has also been acquired by the Railways.“We will face a lot of difficulties to reach our agricultural fields as the proposed railway line would be around 15 feet high. Hence, we are demanding construction of a railway under bridge so that villagers will have easy access to farm fields for cultivation,” said an agitating villager Prasanta Behera.
Moreover, the villagers will also find it difficult to take their cattle for grazing once the new railway track comes up, Behera added.Earlier, the villagers had approached the district Collector and sought his intervention on the matter. Though the Collector had recommended the Railway authorities to construct an under bridge near Gobandia-Badheidanda for the greater interest of villagers, it has yielded no result. The villagers had also taken up the matter with Railway Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL) officials at Bhubaneswar but in vain.The agitators have threatened to intensify their protest if the demand is not fulfilled soon.