BHUBANESWAR: Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Thursday dismissed BJD’s allegation of poor telecom connectivity and railway networks in Odisha in the last 10 years under the Narendra Modi government at Centre.
Vaishnaw said the state has received around 1,826 km railway lines in the last 10 years. Taking to his X handle, Vaishnaw said, “PM @narendramodi Ji has built 1,826 km railway lines in Odisha in the last 10 years. This is more than the entire railway network of Sri Lanka.”
The statement was made with reference to the election advertisement issued by the BJD to print media pointing out six areas where Odisha’s rights were denied by the central government.
Alleging that railways is a neglected sector in the state, the BJD had said, “Despite receiving Rs 20,000 crore of revenue annually from Odisha, the state has less rail connectivity than Bihar and West Bengal.” It had further said that no new railway line was built in the last six years instead, 300 (passenger) stoppages have been withdrawn in the state.
Accusing BJD of spreading fake news, Vaishnaw said there is no truth in the allegations made by the ruling party. Referring to the BJD allegation that mobile network coverage eludes 5,000 villages of the state, the Union Telecom minister said the number of towers in Odisha in 2014 was 7,562. “The number has increased to 28,274 (3.74 times) in the last 10 years. The prime minister has already sanctioned another 5,333 mobile towers worth Rs 5,034 crore for the state,” Vaishnaw stated.