Bhubaneswar: The ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) will stage a demonstration at the East Coast Railway (ECoR) headquarters on Saturday, as a mark of protest against the bifurcation of the East Coast Railway (ECoR).
Speaking at a press conference, BJD General Secretary Sanjay Dasburma said the party is against the Centre’s decision to divide East Coast Railway and demanded to repeal of the order. The BJD emphasised that the division of ECoR would ruin the Railway network in the state as the creation of a South Coast Railway (SCoR), headquartered at Visakhapatnam, will lead to the transfer of major assets there.
Dasburma further said that the northern and western Odisha have been unflinchingly providing iron ore and other minerals. However, both these areas are under the Bilaspur Zone of the South Central Railway (SCR) and the Chakradharpur Zone of the South Eastern Railway (SER). He said the ECoR will also lose loco sheds and wagon maintenance facilities, which would go to SCoR zone under Visakhapatnam after the bifurcation.
Carved out of the South-Eastern Railway (SER), the East Coast Railway is one of the blue-chip zones of Indian Railways that came into existence in its present form with effect from 1st April 2003. Since then, the new zonal railway headquarter has been functioning at Bhubaneswar, the capital city in the state of Odisha.
The geographical jurisdiction of the railway extends over three states encompassing almost all parts of Odisha along with parts of Srikakulam, Vizianagaram and Visakhapatnam districts of North Eastern Andhra Pradesh, and Bastar and Dantewada districts of Chhatisgarh State.
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Ms Kalinga