Other States - Orissa   

Sanction of adequate funds for railway project sought

BERHAMPUR: Unless sufficient amount of funds are allocated in the coming railway budget for the Naupada-Gunupur gauge conversion project, it may not get completed in the year 2008-09 as per its schedule.

The overall physical progress of work of the project till end of September 2007 was around 36 per cent. According to the railways, the project is progressing as per availability of resources. After completion, this project will connect areas of Orissa and Andhra Pradesh. This narrow gauge line was closed down for gauge conversion work on June 9, 2004. Since 2003-04 till 2006-07 the railways had spent around Rs. 58.65 crores on the project.

The Rashtriya Oriya Yuvak Pratisthan (ROYP) has demanded the central railway ministry to allocate the rest amount of money needed to complete the project within the financial year 2008-09. President of the ROYP, Srikant Padhi, said the Centre should sanction around Rs. 60 crores for the project in the coming railway budget.

The Gunupur-Naupada narrow gauge track happened to be part of railway history in Orissa and it was established by the erstwhile royal family of Paralakhemundi.

The British government had sanctioned the dream project of the royal family to connect their capital, Paralakhemundi with Naupada, 40 km away by a narrow gauge railway track in 1898. The project got completed in 1900 at a cost of Rs. 7 lakhs. Since independence demands continue to convert this narrow gauge track into broad gauge.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

XIMB students land jobs with top-notch companies
Fund crunch makes mid-day meal tasteless
SIC gets tough with erring employees
Lawyers’ stir continues
Sanction of adequate funds for railway project sought
Road blockade
Deepak Mishra passes away
Tributes paid to Mahatma
NALCO dividend
Three drowned in reservoir
No fun in functions in violence-hit areas

Copyright © 2008, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu