BHUBANESWAR: The BJD on Friday urged the Centre to start passenger train services on the Paradip-Haridaspur railway line at the earliest for the benefit of the people of Kendrapara.
A delegation of BJD MPs met Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw in New Delhi and said the railway line between Paradip and Haridaspur is open for goods and commercial traffic at present. People of Kendrapara will benefit from railway connectivity 75 years after independence if passenger services are started on the railway line, they added.
Alleging that the development of railways has been historically neglected in the last 75 years, the BJD MPs said successive governments have not given adequate attention to the state in terms of railway connectivity. The delegation maintained that the Odisha government has been providing free land and bearing 50 per cent of the project cost for various railway projects in the state.