By Anurjay Dhal
BHUBANESWAR: India’s one of the much talked about Railway Projects connecting mineral rich –Kalinganagar Haridaspur region of Jajpur-Keonjhar mining belt with Port city of Paradip in Jagatsinghpur through politically sensitive costal pockets of Kendrapara, the ‘Karmabhoomi’ of late legendary Biju Patnaik, will see the Trains rolling on tracks with fully functional bringing smiles to the tens of thousands of people of 3 BJD stronghold districts in this eastern Indian State of Odisha. As many as 31 bridges and 171 minor bridges have been constructed over rivers, canals and other water bodies for the project.
The project, of 82 KM railway line was sanctioned in 1996-97, aims to facilitate movement of freight, export of finished products of steel plants and imported coking coal from Paradip to industries. The Kalinga Nagar industrial hub along with the mining belts of Jajpur and Keonjhar districts will be direct users of the railway line.
The then Union Railway Minister Nitish Kumar had laid the foundation stone of the project near Marshaghai in the district on April 4, 1999 when late Bharat Ratna, AB Vajpayee was Prime Minister and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik was Union Steel Minister and had promised to complete it by 2004. In November 2019, the State Government had directed officials concerned to complete the project within the extended deadline of March, 2020 and finally in July , it will be commissioned.
The project which was launched way back in 1996 under the United Front Governments of HD Devegowda-IK Gujural regimes and Congress leader Srikant Jena was representing Kendrapara as Janata Dal nominee and was serving as Union Parliamentary Affairs and Tourism Minister but the much talked about dreams to see Railways services in Kendrapara, only got momentum, after Baijayant ‘Jay’ Panda took the baton of the Parliamentary segment as BJD candidate in 2009.
Since 2009 till date, Baijayant Panda, who now with BJP and serving as National VP-Spokesperson, held several rounds of meetings at Bhubaneswar and New Delhi and took up the matter with former Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu and present Piyush Goyal for completion of the project.
Even after losing the Kendrapara Lok Sabha seat in May 2019, Panda without getting politically biased, belying all speculations, again in October, 2019, only 6 months after his political debacle against BJD’s Anubhav Mohanty, had met present Union Minister Piyush Goyal requesting him to expidite the project, which was a much waited demands of people of Kendrapara, Jajpur and Jagatsinghpur. East Coast Railways officials here said the project will be commissioned within next two weeks of times and train services will be resumed fully.
“Great news, Haridaspur-Paradip Railway now complete! This is the first ever rail line in Kendrapada. Please watch my short 4 minute video about the struggle to make this project happen.Jai Jagannath,” BJP National VP-Spokesperson, Panda tweeted with a video clip appealing viewers to watch.
Sources in Union Railways Ministry and BJP however admitted that the project was possible because of valiant effort of Baijayant Panda and Piyush Goyal. “No matter Srikant was part of the opening ceremony but it was true , former MP Baijayant Panda during his two terms from Kendrapara from 2009-19 did everything that helped the project got completed,” added a Kendrapara veteran closed to late Biju Patnaik family , said in Bhubaneswar.
Sources said, former Union Minister Srikant Jena is desperately trying to get the credit but unfortunately, the Congress leader not getting support, only from few like former State Minister Ganeswar Behera, who hails from Pattamundai of Kendrapara backing Jena on this issue and present MP Anubhav Mohanty too not getting any responses.
