Bhubaneswar: BJD and the Congress Friday opposed the Railway Board’s decision to exclude the Palasa-Ichchapuram section from ECoR jurisdiction and demanded a rollback of the move.
The decision has also not been welcomed by a section of leaders of the ruling BJP.
The Palasa-Ichchapuram section is currently under the administration of the Khurda Road division within the East Coast Railway (ECoR), and the board decided to merge the stretch with the newly formed South Coast Railway (SCoR) zone.
In a letter to Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, BJD MP Sasmit Patra said the decision would impact Odisha, a state that contributes significantly to Indian Railways’ freight earnings through coal, minerals, and industrial output.
Any diversion of jurisdiction over such high-revenue sections risks financial loss, weakens administrative control, and dilutes Odisha’s role in railway network planning and prioritisation, Patra said in the letter.
“I register my strong opposition to the recent revision of jurisdiction under the proposed SCoR Zone, as conveyed by the Railway Board, particularly the inclusion of the Palasa-lchchapuram section under the Visakhapatnam division,” he said.
He also urged Vaishnaw, who is also a Rajya Sabha MP from Odisha, to immediately roll back this revision and ensure that “no changes affecting Odisha are implemented without due consultation and concurrence with the people of the state and their public representatives”.
Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) president Bhakta Charan Das, in a post on X, said, “The transfer of Palasa-Ichchapuram section from Khordha Road Division of ECoR to the Visakhapatnam Division of SCoR is yet another instance of step-motherly treatment towards Odisha.”
Despite contributing substantial revenue to the Railway Ministry, “Odisha is being deprived of infrastructure development while its assets are shifted outside administrative control”, he claimed.
“This injustice is unacceptable. Odisha deserves its rightful share,” the Congress leader said.
Railway Board Executive Director Rameshwer Meena, in a letter to the general managers of both zones, said Thursday that the jurisdiction of the proposed SCoR zone has been reviewed.
“In partial modification, it has now been decided by the competent authority to include the Palasa-Ichchapuram section in the proposed Visakhapatnam division of SCoR,” the letter said.
ECoR General Manager Parmeshwar Funkwal said there will be a discussion with the SCoR GM over modalities to execute the Railway Board’s decision.
Asked whether it would be beneficial for the ECoR, Funkwal said, “It is not the matter to be discussed at our level.”
Berhampur’s BJP MP Pradeep Kumar Panigrahy, in a social media post, said, “I have formally written to Hon’ble CM Shri @MohanMOdisha regarding the alarming reports of merging the Palasa-Ichchapuram rail section with SCoR (Vizag). We must protect Odisha’s railway sovereignty! #OdishaRailways #Berhampur #ViksitOdisha @RailMinIndia.”
He also said that the Palasa-Ichchapuram section is the “economic artery” of southern Odisha.
The exclusion of the stretch will “hurt our logistics and revenue. Instead of shrinking, we demand the creation of a new railway division at Berhampur!” he said.
BJP MLA Purna Chandra Sethi said a delegation of legislators would soon meet Vaishnaw and request him to review the Railway Board’s decision.
Meanwhile, at a press conference, BJD leader and former minister Atanu S Nayak strongly opposed the bifurcation of the Palasa-Ichchapuram section from the ECoR.
“It appears to be a sinister move. The ECoR, once the top profit-making unit, has been divided, with portions such as Palasa and Ichapuram being added to the Visakhapatnam division,” BJD spokesperson Lenin Mohanty said.
He also questioned the “silence” of 20 BJP MPs from Odisha.
Mohanty said, “We strongly condemn this move, where Odisha has been let down. Andhra Pradesh has been handed over what rightfully belongs to us by a failed double-engine government.”
PTI
