Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) Friday said that the recent decision of the Narendra Modi-led NDA government to shift the Rail Electrification Unit of Bhubaneswar outside Odisha is likely to affect the jobs of 500 employees working in the state.
Addressing a press conference, OPCC Spokesperson Satyaprakash Nayak and party leader Bibhu Prasad Tarai claimed that the railway department has issued a notification dated March 13, 2019 where it has been stated that the Rail Electrification Unit, based in the state capital would be shifted outside Odisha and will be moved to Bangalore in Karnataka.
The OPCC leaders claimed that this will not only hit jobs of the Odias and other people working in the unit from the city but also hamper the prospects of the railway electrification projects which were headed by the department in the state.
“We are against this move taken during election time. This is likely to threaten jobs of 500 employees who are working here directly or indirectly for the last 22 years. It is also likely to hit the prospects of many youths working in local areas where the works were supposed to be carried in the state,” Nayak said and added the railways asked to get the shifting work done by March 23.
Tarai told the media that a total of six rail electrification projects were supposed to be carried out by the project which now will suffer a setback. “Six railway projects in Odisha are also likely to suffer from this decision of the BJP-led Central government which has worked against the interests of Odisha by undertaking this work.”
The Congress leaders claimed that the unit in question has been appreciated worldwide for electrifying tracks for double deckers and also won the Best Performer award last year while it also catered to the electrification needs of railway projects of Odisha, Andhra and West Bengal. The party also questioned the timing of the decision which was taken during election season.
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