ROURKELA: In a significant development, two new rail line proposals have been merged to pave way for direct connectivity from Sundargarh’s Sardega to Ambikapur in Chhattisgarh.
Final location surveys have been separately completed by the Bilaspur division of South East Central Railway (SECR) for Sardega-Sundargarh-Pathalgaon new line proposal of 128 km and Pathalgaon to Ambikapur line of 86 km in Chhattisgarh.
General secretary of Rail Vikash Sangram Samiti (RVSS) Dhrub Kalo, quoting the deputy chief engineer (Construction), said Bilaspur division has recently merged the two new rail line proposals and sent those to the Railway Board seeking approval for preparation of a single detailed project report.
He said this has paved way for setting up 214 km of new rail line from Sundargarh’s Sardega to Ambikapur in Chhattisgarh. The new line will boost rail connectivity in uncovered regions of Sundargarh district and neighbourhood pockets of Chhattisgarh.
Incidentally in July 2024, Union Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw had informed that survey for new rail line of 152 km from Ambikapur to Renukoot in Uttar Pradesh was sanctioned for preparation of DPR.
Kalo said there would now be a new rail line of 366 km from Sardega to Renukoot covering the backward tribal pockets of Sundargarh and Chhattisgarh. The Jharsuguda junction on Howrah-Mumbai main line is connected with the existing lines till Sardega. The new rail line of 366 km from Sardega through unconnected pockets of Sundargarh besides Pathalgaon, Ambikapur and Renukoot would further set up link to Delhi or Howrah as Renukoot is situated on the Howrah-Delhi main line.
He said except for the coal-rich Hemgir block, other parts of Sundargarh sub-division including Sundargarh town are still unconnected with rail connectivity. The new rail line proposal would be a great boost for the people of the region.
Kalo informed that Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai, Union Tribal Affairs Minister and Sundargarh MP Jual Oram, Chhattisgarh’s Sarguja MP Chintamani Maharaj and UP Welfare Minister Sanjeev Singh Gond have played an instrumental role in this regard.
Since the 1970s, stakeholders from Sundargarh along with adjacent districts of Chhattisgarh were pressing for a new rail line connecting Jharsuguda to Ambikapur through uncovered areas.