Berhampur: The Berhampur-Sambalpur railway line is going to become a reality as the Railway Board has approved it, Berhampur MP Chandrasekhar Sahu said.
Sahu also praised the efforts of the Bhanjanagar Bar Association to get approval for the long pending project.
The survey for the project was carried out many years ago. “A fresh survey will be undertaken in some areas to correct faults and the project will surely see the light of the day,” the MP said.
Former Ganjam Youth Congress president Ramachandra Rath was elected MP in 1977. Rath had initiated efforts to conduct survey for the project. But even after 40 years, the project was stuck at the official level.
The Bhanjanagar Bar Association had been raising its voice for the new railway project. The Association had urged the MPs of Berhampur, Asika and Kandhamal to lobby for the project. The sustained pressure by the Bar Association finally yielded results, Sahu said.
The railway line will extent 240 km from Jagannathpur in Ganjam to Rairakhol in Sambalpur.
The project requires 734.92 hectares of farmland and 324.63 hectares of forests. In 2009, its cost was estimated at Rs 2,956.45 crore. However, its cost is expected to go up substantially now.
The railway line will immensely benefit tribal pockets as it passes through Kukudakhandi, Hinjilcut, Asika, Bhanjanagar, Mujagad, Boudh and Rairakhol.
Locals said that they had lacked transport facilities due to the absence of railway. They said the state government should extend all possible help for acquiring land for the project.
PNN
