Odisha BJP, BJD leaders unite in demanding rollback of move to shrink East Coast Railway
Seen as an important part of the East Coast Railway zone, the Palasa-Ichchapuram section is set to brought under the South Coast Railway as per a Railway Board decision. This move has not gone down well in Odisha.
The Palasa-Ichchapuram stretch, though geographically located in Andhra Pradesh's Srikakulam district, has been administered under the Khurda Road division of East Coast Railway (ECoR), which is headquartered in Bhubaneswar. (File Photo)
The Railway Board’s decision to bring the Palasa-Ichchapuram section under the South Coast Railway (SCoR) zone is facing opposition in Odisha, with leaders from both the ruling BJP and the Opposition BJD demanding a rollback.
The Palasa-Ichchapuram stretch, though geographically located in Andhra Pradesh’s Srikakulam district, has been administered under the Khurda Road division of East Coast Railway (ECoR), which is headquartered in Bhubaneswar, since ECoR’s creation in 1996 under Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda. The Railway Board has now directed both SCoR and ECoR to revise their boundary accordingly, a move that will expand the Visakhapatnam-headquartered SCoR’s geographical reach while reducing ECoR’s revenue base.
Advertisement
The BJD alleged that there has been a sustained “conspiracy” to weaken ECoR, which it described as one of Indian Railways’ most profitable zones, by progressively shrinking its territory. BJD Rajya Sabha MP Sasmit Patra wrote to Union Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, arguing that the decision threatens Odisha’s financial and administrative stake in the railway network.
“Any diversion of jurisdiction over such high-revenue sections risks financial loss, weakens administrative control and dilutes Odisha’s role in railway network planning and prioritisation,” Patra wrote, noting that the state is a major contributor to Railways’ freight earnings through coal, minerals and industrial output. He demanded that no changes affecting Odisha be implemented without consultation with the state’s people and elected representatives.
The BJD also turned the issue into a political attack on the BJP, which swept to power in Odisha on an Odia pride platform. BJD spokesperson Lelin Mohanty questioned the silence of the state’s 20 BJP MPs on the matter and warned of protests if the decision is not reconsidered.
Advertisement
However, BJP voices from the state have also pushed back against the Railway Board’s move. Berhampur MP Pradeep Panigrahy, calling the Palasa-Ichchapuram stretch the “economic artery of Southern Odisha”, said severing it from ECoR would hurt the region’s logistics and revenue. He used the occasion to demand the creation of a new Railway Division at Berhampur in Ganjam district. Panigrahy has also written to Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi seeking protection of what he termed Odisha’s “railway sovereignty”.
BJP MLA Purna Chandra Sethi said a delegation of MLAs would soon meet the Union Railways Minister to press for a rollback.
The Palasa-Ichchapuram stretch, though geographically located in Andhra Pradesh's Srikakulam district, has been administered under the Khurda Road division of East Coast Railway (ECoR), which is headquartered in Bhubaneswar. (File Photo) 
Share
