Ex-MP flays no mention of Bargarh-Nuapada line

THURSDAY, 15 MARCH 2012 22:08

PIONEER NEWS SERVICE | BALANGIR

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The long-pending demand for the Bargarh-Nuapada rail line, which got administrative approval in 2004, did not find mention in the current Union Railway Budget, former Sambalpur MP Bhabani Shankar Hota said.

“The construction of the Bargarh-Nuapada rail line was first demanded by me while I was an MP but due to premature fall of the Janata Dal Government, the project could not advance much. Although a survey was carried out and completed, no substantial development on the project could be achieved so far. When Nitish Kumar was the Union Railways Minister, I took up the issue again, which was accorded administrative approval in 2004,” Hota said.

However, after the UPA Government came to power in 2004 and Laloo Prasad Yadav became the Railways Minister, the Bargarh-Nuapada rail line was put virtually in the cold storage on the plea of paucity of fund and terming the project as uneconomical, Hota said further.

The former MP said that he had pleaded with the Railways Board that the project would also be in the interest of the Railways as it would serve as a third corridor line to the already congested Jharsuguda-Bilaspur-Raipur section.

The construction cost would be considerably less and the Railways would also save on account of running cost as the distance would be reduced. The proposed new line will pass through Bijepur, Padampur and join at Nuapada, Hota maintained.

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