SAMBALPUR: Train services on Saturday were disrupted for over two hours after disgruntled locals staged a ‘rail roko’ opposing the decision of East Coast Railway to close the Sambalpur Road railway station. Hundreds of agitators including shopkeepers and residents of nearby areas gathered at the station, and sat on the railway tracks as a mark of protest.
While shops in the vicinity shut down to support the stir, the rail roko affected movement of trains like Bhubaneswar- Balangir Inter-City Express and Jammu Tawi Express. After two hours, the agitation was withdrawn around noon following the visit of the Divisional Commercial Manager (DCM), Sukhram Horo and other senior railway officials besides Railway Protection Force to the spot. They interacted with the agitators and tried to pacify them.
On March 23, the East Coast Railway (EC oR) had notified permanent closure of Sambalpur Road Railway Station for passenger traffic with effect from April 1. However, the decision, which has been taken to pave way for track doubling work between Sambalpur station and Sambalpur city railway station, did not augur well for locals. A city based social worker and shop-owner of that area, Atul Mahakud said, “A large section of the lower income group are dependent on the Sambalpur Road railway station.
Its closure will badly hit livelihood of rickshaw pullers, autorickshaw drivers besides eateries and many other businesses in the area,” he said. Another section of locals said they are unhappy because the station, established in 1895, holds great significance in the history of Sambalpur. They are suggesting to preserve the station structure as a memorial.
Meanwhile the ECoR has appealed to locals to cooperate in the key project for the development of the area. In a release following rail roko, it stated that the Sambalpur-Talcher doubling line work falls on platform number 1 at Sambalpur Road Station (SBPD). In order to retain the station with doubling, the only road, which runs to Sambalpur Railway Station and falls between the boundary walls of Gangadhar Meher University (GMU) and Sambalpur Road Railway Station, will have to be encroached upon and will result in blockage of traffic from the city to Khetrajpur. Hence, there seems to be no alternative solution but to close the Sambalpur Road station, the release stated.