A sidetracked railway in Visakhapatnam

The Visakhapatnam-headquartered DBK Railway executed 3 prestigious Railway enactment projects without immoderate clip oregon outgo overruns implicit 50 years ago. Now, adjacent aft 7 years since Visakhapatnam was chosen arsenic the office of the caller South Coast Railway (SCoR) zone, determination has hardly been immoderate advancement connected the ground.

The nonaccomplishment of the Railway Board to contented a Gazette notification connected the SCoR truthful acold has created doubts successful the minds of the nationalist astir the Centre’s intentions. Though Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has stated that the caller portion would commencement “soon”, helium has remained soundless connected the contented of the Gazette notification, which is important for the portion to commencement functioning.

The Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) authorities had announced the instauration of the SCoR, with its zonal office successful Visakhapatnam, up of the wide elections successful February 2019. After the elections, determination were hardly immoderate steps taken to get the shot rolling. An Officer connected Special Duty was appointed and a Detailed Project Report submitted, but factual decisions person been inordinately delayed. Though Mr. Modi had visited Visakhapatnam connected a mates of occasions betwixt 2019 and 2024, and had the instauration chromatic laying ceremonial included successful his docket successful 1 of these visits, it was withdrawn astatine the eleventh hour. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders had past claimed that the operationalisation of the SCoR would payment the YSR Congress Party without giving immoderate vantage to them. But present the Telugu Desam Party (TDP)-Jana Sena Party (JSP)-BJP confederation authorities is successful power; and isolated from laying the instauration chromatic past year, advancement connected the Railway portion has been slow. What is stopping the ‘double-engine sarkar’ from hastening enactment connected the zone?

Also work | SCR’s three-way divided expected soon with SCoR rollout

Off the rails

Interestingly, connected the different hand, immoderate BJP leaders, including Union Minister Kishan Reddy from Telangana, person expressed concerns implicit the injustice done to Visakhapatnam and the northbound Andhra portion by the Bhubaneswar-headquartered East Coast Railway (ECoR) implicit the past 2 decades. While this includes the hold successful extending highly patronised trains terminating astatine Visakhapatnam junction to Bhubaneswar, and the nonaccomplishment to commencement caller trains originating from Visakhapatnam, it besides has to woody with an contented involving the Waltair divison.

At the clip of the instauration of the ECoR, successful 2003, a ample information of the Waltair part (originating successful Andhra) was fixed distant to make the Sambalpur part successful Odisha, portion the remaining portion was merged with the ECoR. At contiguous the Waltair division, nether the ECoR, extends implicit a magnitude of 1,106.44 km, covering 3 States — chiefly Andhra, Odisha and Chhattisgarh.

Even then, arsenic the SCoR was being created with office successful Visakhapatnam, Odisha staked assertion implicit the full Kottavalasa-Kirandul (K-K) line, which is the lifeline of the Waltair division. This is successful opposition to the earlier connection to bifurcate the K-K line.

Andhra Pradesh BJP president P.V.N. Madhav, erstwhile helium was BJP MLC, had written to the past Railway Minister stating that the gross from the Waltair Division was much than the combined revenues of Vijayawada, Guntur, and Guntakal divisions enactment together. He had noted: “We are consenting to portion with the Odisha information of the K-K enactment betwixt Koraput–Kirandul, Kuneru–Theruvali, and Koraput–Rayagada, arsenic they beryllium to Odisha. But however tin the backward regions of Uttarandhra [region successful bluish Andhra] beryllium transferred to Rayagada Division?” However, the BJP-led NDA authorities is present successful favour of transferring the full K-K enactment to the Rayagada part successful Odisha to further its governmental interests successful that State.

Delayed progress

The deficiency of a gazette notification has efficaciously meant nary enactment happening crossed immoderate fronts. At a gathering astir a decennary ago, apical officials of the DBK Railway Project recalled that each 3 large enactment enlargement projects were completed connected clip due to the fact that DBK Railway had afloat powers to instrumentality decisions, preventing procedural delays successful obtaining sanctions. Now, though a General Manager has been appointed for the SCoR, Railway sources accidental that without the issuance of the Gazette notification, helium has nary powers to instrumentality large decisions. It is precocious clip that Visakhapatnam —the maturation motor of Andhra Pradesh— is fixed a amended woody by the ‘double-engine sarkar’.