Tweak railway route to bypass land problems in Bengal: CM to minister
Hemanta Pradhan | TNN | Updated: Jan 22, 2019, 12:57 IST
Naveen PatnaikBHUBANESWAR: Chief minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday wrote a letter to railway minister Piyush Goyal, requesting him to tweak the proposed route of Jaleswar to Digha railway line under South Eastern Railway in view of problems in land acquisition in West Bengal and make the line completely pass through Odisha.
The 41-km Digha-Jaleswar broad gauge rail project was sanctioned by the ministry of railways in 2011-12. Seven km of the project is proposed to pass through West Bengal while the rest 34 km would pass through Balasore district.
“Even after seven years of sanctioning, the project has not yet taken off. It is learnt that the project has been kept on hold as land acquisition in West Bengal portion has not progressed,” Naveen mentioned in his letter.
The chief minister said he had proposed a change in the alignment of the railway line in June 2011 to the then Prime Minister. The proposed realigned line will pass through Odisha, touching various pilgrim and tourist spots like Bhusandheswar, Chandaneswar and Talsari-Udaypur beach. “Such a change of alignment will not only help develop tourism but also improve socio-economic condition of the people of the region,” he reasoned.
Naveen requested Goyal to intervene and take an early decision to change the alignment. “I assure you full cooperation for land acquisition and all other necessary support that will be needed by the railways from my state,” Naveen added.
Final survey of the line was conducted in 2013. The Centre had sanctioned funds for survey work.
The 41-km Digha-Jaleswar broad gauge rail project was sanctioned by the ministry of railways in 2011-12. Seven km of the project is proposed to pass through West Bengal while the rest 34 km would pass through Balasore district.
“Even after seven years of sanctioning, the project has not yet taken off. It is learnt that the project has been kept on hold as land acquisition in West Bengal portion has not progressed,” Naveen mentioned in his letter.
The chief minister said he had proposed a change in the alignment of the railway line in June 2011 to the then Prime Minister. The proposed realigned line will pass through Odisha, touching various pilgrim and tourist spots like Bhusandheswar, Chandaneswar and Talsari-Udaypur beach. “Such a change of alignment will not only help develop tourism but also improve socio-economic condition of the people of the region,” he reasoned.
Naveen requested Goyal to intervene and take an early decision to change the alignment. “I assure you full cooperation for land acquisition and all other necessary support that will be needed by the railways from my state,” Naveen added.
Final survey of the line was conducted in 2013. The Centre had sanctioned funds for survey work.
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