Balasore: MEMU train services from Balasore to Bhubaneswar started rolling Friday. Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw visited the district and flagged off the Balasore-Bhubaneswar MEMU train, a long-cherished dream of the people of the district. Ashwini Vaishnaw also laid the foundation stones for new railway stations at Nilagiri and another station at Jaleswar. He inaugurated the Basta railway station and its buildings.
Speaking at the inaugural ceremony, the Vaishnaw said that literary works of legendary litterateur Fakirmohan Senapati, a native of Balasore, have enriched the Odia language and the state is proud of him. He recalled Fakirmohan’s masterpieces like ‘Daka Munsi’ and ‘Randi Pua Ananta’.
Drawing an analogy between the contributions of the UPA and the NDA governments to the railway sector in Odisha, Vaishnaw said when the UPA government was in power, the state would get only Rs 700 to Rs 800 crore. After the NDA came to power in 2014, the railway funding for the state has increased 10 times, asserted the minister.
Vaishnaw also stated that in the current year, the state has been allocated Rs 7,000 crore for various railway projects.
Speaking on the occasion, Union Minister of State for Tribal Affairs and Jal Shakti, Biswheswar Tudu said as Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made an MP from Odisha (Ashwini Vaishnaw) the Railway Minister, a lot of works in the railway sector can be done in the days to come.
Balasore MP Pratap Chandra Sarangi said after Vaishnaw became the the Railway Minister, the station at Nilagiri has been possible. He recalled that when Vaishnaw was the collector of Balasore, he had successfully conducted the rescue and the relief operation post the 1999 Super Cyclone. He added that the minister has a long relationship with the people of Balasore.