Rail infrastructure growth needs an aggressive push in Rayagada
Report,Badal Tah,Odishabarta
Rayagada, October 9: Railways have always played a vital role in all round development of a region. Though Rayagada rail station has halts by 58 trains out of which 33 are mail/express, 18 superfast, 5 passengers & 2 superfast AC trains, most of these are weekly run. During 2019 it has been declared as a Railway Division; but the work is progressing in a snail’s speed. Unfortunately thing are still managed by the Waltair(Visakhapatnam) division. In spite of Railway Minister Aswini Baishnav’s visit to this district last year during the fag end of August & taking stock of the situation, the infrastructural progress projects a gloomy picture. Sri Bishnu Prasad Khadanga, a retired govt employee, has opined to speed up the matter at the earliest.
After several hue and cries by a no of civil society entities, Therubali-Gunupur railway line project, for which sanctions were made, is yet to see the limelight. The people, who are advocating for this project since last five decades, get sandwiched between the blame games og central and state govts. Identification of a Joint Venture(JV) company, a state govt’s responsibility. Is not yet done and the status of the project is not known to anybody including the MP, MLAs and other people’s representatives.
Maa Mahjighariani Temple in Rayagada is visited by scores of devotees from neighbouring states like AP, Chhattisgarh, Telengana including Odisha making it a hotspot of religious tourism. The temple earns crores of rupees and gold/silver ornaments from devoutees’ offerings making it number two in the context of receipt from hundi after Lord Jagannath in Puri. As the exchange of railway land adjacent to temple with the available govt land nearby has not been done due to lackadaisical attitude and inaction of babus of both state administration and Rail ministry, the beautification of the temple is stalled.
To speed up the initial steps for setting up of the Railway Division, Railways has issued notice to the only girl’s orphanage in the town, which is running since 1968, to vacate its land. Interestingly enough, its Secretary, a Padmashree Awardee, Late Shanti Devi met Vaishnav during his visit to Rayagada and appraised him about the land issue and requested to eke out a permanent solution. He also happily announced a grant of Rs.2 lakhs to the this reputed Child Care Institution; but unfortunately, the orphanage got notice to vacate the land. The present Secretary has again appealed Vaishnav and local MP Sri Saptagiri Ulaka to facilitate a process for a long term lease of the railway land. Similar is the case of Om Shanti Temple situated on Railway Land beside NH-326.
Sri Rakesh Himirika, a totally visually impaired person & President of Rayagada Bhinnakhyama Mahasangha, Sri Jalandhar Bacheli, a person with disability(PwD) having serious locomotor problems & Secretary of district unit of Odisha Vikalanga Manch, Sri Shyama Kumar Dash, District Secretary, SAKSHAM have submitted a memorandum to Divisional Railway Manager to ply two solar/battery powered vehicles in the station for the use by Divyangs & senior citizens, to place exclusive lavatories for the PwDs, to allot a few shops in front of the railway station for the differently abled persons.
Sri Ajay Rath from Rayagada Nagarika Manch, a district level citizens forum, has also demanded an over bridge on GIACR-Sai International Hotel road, upgradation of the four-wheeler stand, extension of retiring rooms, running of Visakhapatnam -Koraput-Visakhapatnam Intercity Express on daily basis and continue Vistadome coach permanently and not to take away the RMS facility from Rayagada Railway station. Advocate Sri Sunil Kar from City Development Committee has appealed to rehabilitate scores of vendors displaced near railway station during widening of NH-326 and alternate arrangement for hundreds of poor homeless families staying on railway land for last half century with their hutments. Sr scribe Sri Rabindra Patakhandal from Odisha Suchana Adhikar Mancha has proposed for a second ticket counter at Rayagada railway station.
Apart from these issues, local MP Er Saptagiri Ulaka is going to take up issues like plying of two new day time trains to Bhubaneswar from Gunupur & Rayagada, renaming of Hirakhanda Express as Majhighariani Express, construction of underground passages at different railway crossings, stoppage of trains at Singapur Road, Therubali & Jemadeipentha. Saptagiri has sought feedback from the public to place those before the Divisional Committee meeting with GM, East Coast Railways other Principal Heads of Departments(PHODs) of headquarters for Sambalpur and Waltair Divisions. He also has assured the citizens of Rayagada to raise a few important issues in the Parliament, if need be. “Collective obligations of the civil societies, peoples’ representatives, bureaucrats, media and most importantly the general public will certainly yield results in lessening the infrastructe deficit of Railways in Rayagada”, said Bidulata Huika, State Convenor of Odisha Adibasi Manch.
