BHUBANESWAR: The BJD, Congress, Left and other Opposition parties staged a dharna in front of the East Coast Railway (ECoR) headquarters on Thursday, demanding immediate cancellation of the decision to transfer the Palasa-Ichchapuram section to South Coast Railway (SCoR). The parties also sought safeguarding of Odisha’s interests in the railway sector.
Senior vice-president of BJD Debi Prasad Mishra said the regional party was open to working with like-minded formations to raise issues concerning the state’s interests. He added that such cooperation between the BJD, the Congress, and other parties would continue on matters relating to Odisha in the future. The BJD, he said, had long been highlighting the alleged neglect of Odisha in the railway sector.
Among those who participated in the protest were former minister Ranendra Pratap Swain, BJD MLA from Bhubaneswar-North Susant Kumar Rout, and former Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee presidents Niranjan Patnaik and Prasad Harichandan.
In a memorandum submitted to Railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw through the general manager of ECoR, the parties alleged the decision to bifurcate the Waltair division was driven by political considerations rather than administrative logic. They further alleged a shift by the Centre and the Railways towards a state-centric approach in the structuring of railway zones.
The memorandum also demanded that railway regions in Odisha like Balasore, Mayurbhanj, Sundargarh and Keonjhar under the South Eastern Railway, and Jharsuguda under the South East Central Railway, be brought under the East Coast Railway to ensure administrative coherence, efficiency and equity.