Railways' neglect: Ganjam reels

Berhampur: Direct trains from Berhampur-Surat and Berhampur-Delhi are yet to be considered, thanks to the blind eye of the railways department towards Ganjam.Demand for a station for halt of passenger trains at Berhampur industrial estate remaining unnoticed, railway project from Gopalpur to Rayagada hanging in balance and demand for a rail wagon factory paid no heed; clearly shows the utter negligence of railways department towards Ganjam district.Moreover, the Berhampur-Phulbani railway line is yet to see the light of the day.

In the presence of MKCG Medical College and Hospital, Brahmapur railway station and other major tourist spots, Ganjam is one of the fast developing and high revenue generating districts. However, with the railways department turning a blind eye to the development of train communications, the district has been lagging through a lot of hurdles.Despite repeated demands since years, the railways department clearly seems disinterested in the development of Ganjam railways. This has spread resentment among the residents here who condemned the negligence of the railways department.Notably, the Ganjam district was under Madras presidency during the British rule and its courts were in Srikakulam of Andhra Pradesh. However, keeping in view the problems people had to face, the British government decided to shift the courts to Berhampur.Moreover, a survey was conducted for construction of a rail route from Madras to Berhampur back in 1871. Thanks to the quick action by the Britishers, just 10 years later Berhampur was connected with trains from Madras (now Chennai).

The halt station was built at erstwhile Ankul, which is the present industrial estate and is nearer to the Berhampur Court. However, the station was reduced to rubbles after Japan dropped bombs over it during the Second World War in 1945. Later, the halt station was rebuilt at Ankuli Industrial Estate during Congress rule in 1974.Since then, there has been demand for halt of passenger trains in the Industrial Estate station. However, the railways department seems least bothered about the demand since centuries. After repeated demands, back in 2016, Dharmendra Pradhan had written a written to the Railways minister, demanding immediate construction of the station that would benefit thousands of villagers of 26 villages near the Industrial Estate area.However, till now, there has been no reply from the Railways department.Similarly, the state government had donated land for construction of a railway wagon factory in Sitalapali. While the Modi government had put up the matter during 1st Budget, it was later dropped.On the other hand, the Gopalpur-Rayagada railway line has been hanging in balance since 2012. The Berhampur-Phulbani railway line is only in pen and papers. Moreover, the demand for direct trains from Berhampur-Surat is yet to get any nod from the Railways.This clearly shows the ignorance of Railways towards Ganjam district.