Odisha: Kandhamal citizens' body demands Phulbani be included in Gopalpur-Rairakhole rail corridor

A citizens' forum in Odisha's Kandhamal district has urged the Odisha government and the Centre to include Phulbani town in the proposed railway connectivity from Gopalpur to Rairakhole under the 'Janjatiya Gaurav Corridor'.

The District Railway Action Committee (DRAC), Kandhamal has sent representations to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw through Kandhamal district collector A Ishwar Patil.

In its representation, the citizens' forum claimed that the East Coast Railway had prepared a detailed project report (DPR) for the 245-kilometre new railway line from Gopalpur to Rairakhole.

"The corridor had 18 stations including Phulbani, but in the revised DPR, the station at Phulbani was dropped as the line was diverted from Chakapad (Kandhamal) to Madhapur (Boudh), reportedly citing some technical and economical reasons," the citizens' body said.

The committee urged the government to reconsider its demand to include Phulbani, the district headquarters of Kandhamal, in the proposed railway project, action committee's chairman Kamala Kanta Pandey said.

The Kandhamal district has over 40 per cent tribal population, a huge stock of minerals, forest produce and tourism potential, which will be explored if the railway line is linked, he said.

If no assurance will be given on the demand within two weeks, the action committee threatened to launch a district-wide agitation in a phased manner from Gandhi Jayanti.