Kandhamal residents move PM for railway station at Madhapur
Bhubaneswar: Civil society members and traders of Kandhamal district have moved Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a railway station at Madhapur in Boudh district on the Khurda Road-Balangir new line for better connectivity.
There is no railway connectivity to Kandhamal at present and residents want a station at least close to the district's border. If a station is constructed at Madhapur, passengers can travel around 37 km from Kandhamal district headquarters town, Phulbani, to catch a train to Cuttack, Bhubaneswar and western Odisha towns, they said.
Kandhamal Jagaran Manch, a civil society organisation, which wrote to the PM on Saturday, circulated the letter to the media on Monday.
"Madhapur is situated between Adenigarh and Banigochha stations on the Khurda Road-Balangir new line project. It is under construction now. I hope the govt will listen to our demand," said manch president Seshadev Jani. He said people from Phulbani travel 200 km to reach Bhubaneswar, and a passenger has to shell out around Rs 400 as bus fare.
"It is costly for a tribal man travelling for official or medical purposes. Rail connectivity will make the journey affordable for most people," said Jani.
Phulbani market association president Ashok Kumar Patnaik said Madhapur is a junction for people coming from districts like Kandhamal, Boudh and Nayagarh. "The proposed station can be accessed by people from Kandhamal without changing buses or minibuses for Adenigarh or Banigochha," he added.
East Coast Railway (ECoR) sources said Madhapur is located 6 km from Adenigarh and 8 km from Banigochha stations. Out of the 301-km project length, construction of 106 km of lines has been completed from Khurda Road to Daspalla and 120 km from Balangir to Purunakatak. Work on the remaining 75-km section from Purunakatak to Adenigarh is underway, official sources said.
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