Rayagada Railway Division must include contextual demands of the local civic bodies
Rayagada (Badal Tah): Several civic bodies of Rayagada namely Rayagada Nagarika Mancha, Sai Priya Walkers’ Club, Senior Citizens Association, Zilla Sambadika Sangha, Press Club, etc have applauded the efforts of Railway Ministry of Govt of India for declaring Rayagada as a Railway Division. Rail Minister Aswini Vaishnav’s visit-both physical & virtual has given a new direction in this regard. Even Narendra’s Modi’s virtual appearance twice in Rayagada has put Rayagada, an aspirational district, as a focal point.
“Our bone of contention is local employment. Group C& D cadres should be confined to division wise & not zonal wise or nation wise. By doing this mostly UP, Bihar and Rajasthan boys are getting more than 75% of the jobs. Only 25% are left for Odias,Telugus and Bengalis. It is irony to note even for class-IV grade jobs are grabbed by the these Hindi speaking states. Can’t our adivasi boys/girls execute the same job as that of those three states ? We can vouch that even our oys/girls work better as they are well versed with the local terrain & situation”, said S N Behera, a retired railway officer from Rayagada.
According to Behera Group-D posts should be confined to division wise not zonal nor national wise. By doing this the locals belonging to this division division will get the benefits. For instance, Waltair division consists of AP, Odisha and Chhattisgarh. The employer invites 50 % applications from undivided Koraput, Bastar in Chhattisgarh, Visakhapatnam, Vijzinagaram, Srikakulam & balance half from Khordha division. So there should not be any applicants from the Hindi speaking states facilitating a regional imbalance in employment. This practice should be forthwith withdrawn.
The station name of Rayagada should be corrected as Rayagad. Only Odia, Hindi & English should be used. Similarly Jemadieipentha has to be written in English in place of Jimidipeta. Daikalu station name needs to be changed as Dahikhal.When Mohan Govt in Odisha is emphasizing Odia identity-asmita, Odia spellings of names are a must. A team consisting o Odia experts from the district should be formed and approved by the DRM to map such irregularities and report to the authorities for action as deem fit.
Direct trains to Jammu from Rayagada on Monday and Friday has been proposed by the netizens. A daily direct train to Trivandrum or else the Visakhapatnam to Kkolam express can be augmented upto Rayagada has been demanded. Guntur-Rayagada express train should be extended up to Secunderbad. Hirakhand exp should be extended up to Baleswar and Junagad superfast express upto Paradeep.
There should be connectivity to railway station from west side. Widening the roads and construction of shed are the need of the hour. A day bound train to Bhubaneswar from Koraput is a long standing demand of undivided Koraput with limited stoppage like Koraput, Laxmipur, Rayagada, Vizianagaram, Srikakulam, Palasa, Brahmapur, Balugoan and Bhubaneswar.
Forest Park developed by Forest deptt of Odisha on Railway land must be taken up by the Rail Divn and developed to its fullest potential in stead of dismantling it. Rayagada cycle stand must be revamped alongwith four wheeler stand. A standard sports complex must be built with facilities for senior citizens and Divyangs. Shopping complex with quota for persons with disabilities and free battery operated vehicles for differently abled and senior citizens must be provided. Making the rail coach restaurant functional again will add valour to the image of Rayagada Rail Division.
