CUTTACK: Union Minister for Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw on Thursday said the process of transformation of Cuttack railway station into a world-class entity has started with the Centre sanctioning Rs 303 crore for the project.
Vaishnaw, who flagged off the Bhadrak-Nayagarh Town MEMU along with Union Education Minister Dhamremndra Pradhan here, said the Indian Railways has decided to redevelop and modernise as many as 57 railway stations in the state. The Centre has allocated around Rs 10,000 crore for development of railways in Odisha during 2023-24 fiscal.
He said, while only around 50 km long railway lines were constructed annually in Odisha from 2009 to 2014, the length has increased substantially to 450 km in 2022-23. The Indian Railways has achieved what it could not in the last 75 years, Vaishnaw said.
Later, Vaishnaw and Pradhan released a set of four commemorative postage stamps on ‘Legend of Odisha’ at a function organised by India Post at Ravenshaw Convention Centre. Keeping in view the interests of philatelists and students, the postal department has undertaken initiatives for release of commemorative postage stamps on four legends of Odisha- Kantakabi Lakshmikant Mohapatra, Guru Kelu Charan Mohapatra, Akshaya Mohanty and Parbati Ghose.