Union Minister V. Kishore Chandra Deo’s suggestion to relocate the headquarters of East Coast Railway Zone from Bhubaneswar to Visakhapatnam is the best solution to end the decade-long injustice to the areas under the Visakhapatnam Division and ensure progress of the region, according to Praja Spandana president C.S. Rao.
Hailing the suggestion of Mr. Deo, the Praja Spandana president noted in a statement on Monday that the move would not affect Odisha as the Minister had also suggested relocation of South Eastern Railway Headquarters from Kolkata to Bhubaneswar.
West Bengal on the other hand has two Zones and the SER has hardly any relevance to it, as West Bengal was located in the Eastern region. Mr. Rao said that Waltair Division with a revenue of Rs.5,200 crore was earning more than the combined revenue of Khurda and Sambalpur divisions.
Despite earning the highest revenue, Waltair Division was being neglected and the revenue generated was being used to develop the regions in Odisha, he alleged.
Mr. Rao also flayed Union Minister D. Purandeswari for failing to keep her promise of fighting for creation of a new zone with headquarters in Visakhapatnam.
