Row Over Merging 'Lifeline'of Waltair Rly Div in Rayagada
In a twist to the ongoing row, BJP State unit president MP D Purundeswari said she has represented Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw to retain the KK line in the Visakhapatnam Division
CPI (M) activists protesting against inclusion of KK line and Araku railway station in Rayagada division at Visakhapatnam Railway Station on February 8
Visakhapatnam: While there is widespread appreciation for the Centre's decision to retain Waltair Railway Division by renaming it as Visakhapatnam Division removing the colonial tag, the exclusion of profit-making Kothavalasa-Kirandul (KK) line and Araku Valley Station have caused severe resentment among various circles.
Of total revenue of Rs10,500 crore by the undivided Waltair division, a lion's share comes from KK line, considered the lifeline of East Coast Railway (ECoR). With the work beginning for formation of South Coast Railway (SCoR) Zone with headquarters in Visakhapatnam, the government recently conceded the demand from locals to retain the truncated Waltair division.
The division has a history of 132 years. KK line provides huge revenue due to transportation of iron ore from Bacheli mines in Kirandul in Chattisgarh to Visakhapatnam and Gangavaram Ports. Several minerals including coal are transported for VSP, NTPC Simhadri and other industries on this section. Araku Valley, known as Poorman's Ooty, has a railway station popular for operating Vistadome coaches from Visakhapatnam for the convenience of tourists to have a bird's eye view of the Eastern Ghats from the see-through air-conditioned coaches. Several activists from the CPI (M) staged a protest at the station on February 8 in protest against the decision to exclude KK line and Araku from the renamed Visakhapatnam division.
The KK line was built with great difficulty as tunnels had to be dug in the hilly terrains to lay the tracks.Out of 1090 km in the undivided division, a major part measuring 680 km will go to Rayagada division. Both the CPI and the CPI (M) while hailing the decision to retain the division, expressed their anguish over notification to include KK line and Araku in the Waltair division.
CPI State assistant secretary and Railway Division Sadhana Committee convener JV Satyanarayana Murthy said the division has been done in the most unscientific way. The Left parties are firm on retaining the Waltair division in the original form. CPI (M) district secretary M Jaggu Naidu said they will agitate if the decision was not reversed.
In a new twist to the ongoing controversy, BJP State unit president and Rajamahanderavaram MP Daggubati Purundeswari said she has represented Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw to retain the KK line in the Visakhapatnam Division.
Earlier, Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu, TDP State president Palla Srinivasa Rao and Visakhapatnam MP M Sribharat thanked Ashwini Vaishnaw for considering the local demand to not wind up the Waltair division and merge its parts with the Rayagada and Vijayawada divisions.
