BERHAMPUR: Lawyers from Ganjam, Kandhamal, Boudh and Sambalpur districts met at Bhanjanagar on Saturday to press for construction of Berhampur Sambalpur railway line.
The lawyers and members of over 10 bar associations of the four districts strongly advocated for the construction of the railway line in the meeting which was presided over by Bhajanagar Bar Association president Abhimanyu Gouda.
They said Kandhamal, which is located between Ganjam and Sambalpur districts, does not have railway connectivity and this has hampered its development. The lawyers said Berhampur-Sambalpur railway line is yet to see the light of the day and this exposes the apathy of Centre and State towards Sambalpur and Ganjam districts.
The Centre had accorded permission to East Coast Railway (ECoR) to conduct a survey for laying the railway line in 2010-11. Though ECoR had submitted a 212-page survey report to the Ministry of Railways, the project is yet to be entered in the Pink Book of the Railways.
As per the survey report, the 240 km railway, to be built at a cost of Rs 5,000, will connect the four parliamentary constituencies of Berhampur, Aska, Kandhamal and Sambalpur. As many as 16 new railway stations will be constructed between Sambalpur and Berhampur and the line will pass through five tunnels, 38 big bridges and 184 medium and small bridges.
The lawyers said Niti Aayog had stressed connecting backward districts across the country through railways.