Bhubaneswar, April 16 Leaders and workers of 11 opposition parties on Thursday staged a protest in front of the East Coast Railway (ECoR) headquarters in Bhubaneswar, demanding the restoration of the Waltair Division and raising concerns over the alleged neglect of Odisha’s railway interests.
The demonstration saw participation from senior leaders across parties, who accused the Centre of taking unilateral decisions affecting railway administration and infrastructure in the state.
The protesting leaders later submitted a five-point memorandum to Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw through the ECoR General Manager. Leaders from all 11 political parties addressed the gathering during the protest.
The opposition parties targeted the Union government over the bifurcation of the Waltair Division and the shifting of the Palasa-Ichchapuram section from the Khurda Road Division of ECoR to the South Coast Railway.
“The decision to bifurcate Waltair appears to have been taken under political considerations rather than administrative logic. It indicates a shift by the Government of India and the Ministry of Railways towards a state-centric approach in the structuring of railway zones, departing from the established principle of a unified national railway system. And this position is further reinforced by the recent transfer of the Palasa-Ichchapuram section from the Khurda Road Division of ECOR to the South Coast Railway,” reads the memorandum submitted to the Railway Minister.
They alleged that these decisions could adversely affect ECoR, which has consistently been a top-performing, high-revenue-generating zone, thereby impacting employment opportunities, operational efficiency, and overall administrative capacity.
They further claimed that the cumulative impact may lead to a significant financial setback, with an estimated annual revenue loss of around Rs 10,000 crore.
The opposition parties also demanded that railway regions in Odisha currently under other zones be brought under the ECoR.
“Therefore, we demand that, in the interest of policy consistency and Odisha's substantial contribution to railway revenue, the railway regions of Odisha currently outside ECOR Baleswar, Mayurbhanj, Sundargarh and Keonjhar under South Eastern Railway and Jharsuguda under South East Central Railway must be brought under ECOR to ensure administrative coherence, efficiency and equity,” demanded the opposition.
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