ROURKELA/BALASORE: BJP’s Sundargarh MLA Kusum Tete and MP Jual Oram separately met Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw at the National Capital with various demands on Monday. Tete also met Education, Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
During her meeting with Vaishnaw, Tete highlighted the long-pending demand for Sundargarh-Jharsuguda-Ambikapur new rail line to connect under-developed regions. She also demanded introduction of second Inter-City Express between Rourkela and Bhubaneswar to benefit large population of western Odisha, setting up of a new division at Jharsuguda and construction of railway over-bridges at Kanika and Dharuadihi in Sundargarh.
In her interaction with Pradhan, the MLA insisted on setting up two skill development centres in the coal-rich Hemgir block and Sundargarh town. She also discussed the demand for setting up Odisha’s second AIIMS at Sundargarh town.Oram met Vaishnaw and sought justice for victims of land acquisition by the Indian Railways at Bondamunda. He handed over a petition of displaced persons/families who were evicted for Marshalling Yard at Bondamunda by the South Eastern Railway.
On the day, BJP’s Balasore MP Pratap Chandra Sarangi also met Vaishnaw with the demand to include Balasore station under East Coast Railway (ECoR) zone. The station is currently functioning under Kharagpur division of South Eastern Railway. Balasore should be made a new division under ECoR, the MP said.