In an open letter to the Railway Minister, former general secretary, Steel Executives’ Federation of India (SEFI) Bimal Kumar Bisi has urged for up-gradation of railway facilities in Rourkela.
Bisi mentioned Rourkela is the industrial temple of modern Odisha. Besides, as per Hindu scriptures, Sage Vyas Dev had composed the Mahabharata at Vedvyas in Rourkela.
Hence, he urged to launch a dedicated train service connecting all heritage/religious sites of Odisha including the silk city of Brahmapur, temple city of Bhubaneswar, Srikhetra, Puri, silver city of Cuttack, steel city of Rourkela, coal city of Talcher, besides Baleswar and Sambalpur, etc.
He further said Rourkela has the Bondamunda Railway Exchange Yard which is the second largest in Asia. So, a DRM Office is very much necessary in Rourkela. Earlier the Odisha Government had recommended for a Railway Division at Rourkela. "There would be no problem to have a Railway Division here as infrastructure and other facilities are already available, for which Railways does not have to spent much. The Railway station of Rourkela may be upgraded at par with other modern railway stations of the country, befitting a cosmopolitan Smart City," he said.
While welcoming the plan of starting a double-decker Intercity Express service for Rourkela-Bhubaneswar he urged for the starting of two such trains - one from Rourkela and one from Bhubaneswar simultaneously.
The Bimlagarh-Keonjhar area has the largest iron ore deposits in the country. Hence, he urged to expedite the Talcher-Bimlagarh Railway Project (pending for the last 60 years), which in turn will facilitate connectivity with the Paradip port.
He further mentioned that Rourkela lies on the Howrah-Mumbai main line and previously for all the trains from Mumbai to Howrah passing through Raipur announcement was made at Raipur station that the trains would pass through Bilaspur, Jharsuguda, Rourkela, Chakradharpur, Tatanagar, etc. enroute Howrah. But of late because of some unknown reasons, the announcements at Raipur station do not mention “Rourkela” though it is an important station. "This may be kindly investigated and the announcement made must include Rourkela station’s name," added Bisi.
As Rourkela has the privilege to host World Cup Hockey in January 2023, and out of 24 matches Rourkela will host 12 matches he urged for more trains connectivity with different cities from Rourkela.
He sent a copy of the letter is to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, Union Higher Education Minister DharmendraPradhan, Sundargarh MP Jual Oram and the Prime Minister’s Office.
