Jajpur: Construction of a new rail route for better communication from Jajpur-Keonjhar road railway station, connecting the industrial areas in the district to deep seaport of Dhamra in Bhadrak district has hit roadblocks.
The Reconnaissance Engineering-cumTraffic (RET) survey report has rejected the need of a railway line between these two districts, a report said.
The proposed new railway line has been shelved in the final RET report submitted before the Railways Board. The RET report states that there is no need for an additional railway line of this capacity as there exists a railway line in Bhadrak district— 65 km ahead of the Dhamra port.
The existing railway line is being used to 66 per cent of its capacity. The need for an additional railway line will arise when the existing one will be used to 80 per cent of its capacity, the report stated.
However, the need for an additional railway line arises as the existing rail route is not being used for passenger transport while transportation of cargo from Dhamra port has more than doubled in between these years.
With this, the hope of the residents of having railway connectivity to Jajpur town, the abode of Goddess Biraja, the presiding deity of the district has been upset. The final RET report itself is ambiguous as it contradicts the opinion of the survey officials advocating the need for establishment of an additional railway line.
Dhananjaya Singh, director (work-2) of Railway Board has informed this in a letter (18.07.2018) to the chief administrative officer of East Coast Railway. The development remained concealed and no one had inkling about it.
The matter was revealed following available of information (May 2020) under an RTI (Right to Information Act) application filed by advocate Satya Prakash Behuria. This has sparked resentment among the residents.
A mass agitation will take place if the Centre does not sanction funds for the new rail route in the coming railway budget in February, warned Advocate Satya Prakash Behuria and social activists Digambar Sahu and Dushmant Rout.
Reports said that a survey was carried out for construction of the 95.950 km length of the new railway route in 2012-13. This length of the new railway route connects Jajpur Road-Keonjhar Road station with Dhamra via Jajpur town and Aradi in Bhadrak district.
The survey report was submitted before the Railways Board in 2015. A primary estimate pegged the cost at Rs 1,043 crore for construction of the new railways route. The survey officials had predicted that the East Coast Railways would reap 33 per cent profit if the new rail route is constructed.
They claimed that the construction of the new rail route will help boost tourism in both the districts as this railway line passes through Jajpur Town, the abode of Goddess Biraja and Aradi, the famous Shiva shrine of Akhandalmani. These two places are daily visited by devotees from in and outside of the state as well as from foreign countries.
Moreover, Kalinganagar industrial complex in Jajpur district is known as the steel hub of Asia for being home to various steel manufacturing firms. The establishment of the railway line will help export of steel products manufactured in Kalinganagar through Dhamra port.
This apart, the railway line will also help in transportation of vegetables cultivated in the district as well as consumer products to various places through trains. When contacted, Jajpur Lok Sabha MP Sharmistha Sethi said that she is unaware of the RET report and will place her demand in Parliament after reviewing the report.
PNN
