Congress wants slum dwellers resettled 

ROURKELA: A host of leaders of Rourkela District Congress Committee (RDCC) on Saturday visited Kumbharpara and Durgapur slums here and staged a protest over the move of South Eastern Railway (SER) to evict the slum dwellers for laying the third railway track between Rourkela and Jharsuguda.  Expressing solidarity with the affected slum dwellers, RDCC president Biren Senapati and former Congress MLA Pravat Mohapatra said no eviction would be allowed till they are rehabilitated under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY). About 1,000 poor families residing along the railway tracks from Rourkela station to Panposh would be affected, they said.

 They also questioned acquiring of 85 feet for the third track while 50 feet would be more than enough to lay railway tracks. The SER has decided to align the new track on the north side thus affecting the poor slum dwellers.

The Congress would fight for permanent rehabilitation of the affected people and blamed Union Tribal Affairs Minister Jual Oram and Rourkela BJP MLA Dilip Ray for allowing the SER to evict the poor slum people.  The protest by the Congress came after the SER on Friday asked the slum dwellers of Kumbharpara and Durgapur to vacate the areas in a week.