Railway employees, trade union leaders and people of Visakhapatnam city and region are upbeat with the talk among political circles that Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu will shortly announce formation of the new railway zone with headquarters in Visakhapatnam.
The railway zone headquarters would ensure railway-related development in Visakhapatnam. A Railway Recruitment Board (RRB) would be established, new trains can be introduced and the tremendous demand for supply of wagons to Visakhapatnam and Gangavaram Ports and other industries could be readily met.
Telugu Desam leader and former MP MVVS Murthy declared at a recent public meeting that Union Railway Minister was scheduled to visit the city to make the announcement. Visakhapatnam MP and BJP State president Khambampati Haribabu said though a specific timeline of one or two months could not be fixed in view of technicalities involved, the Railway Minister would be making the announcement in Vizag.
Welcoming the declaration East Coast Railway Shramik Union Ch. Gandhi said that once the announcement was made a lot of work had to begin immediately. “An Officer on Special Duty (OSD) should be appointed and posted at the headquarters and the work could begin immediately,” he said and added that an early announcement on the issue was needed.
The Railway Minister may form a Sub-Committee to decide the jurisdiction of the new zone and the Sub-Committee could actually finish its work within 15 days as all the data is readily available.
Visakhapatnam with over 750 acres of railway land, the biggest Diesel Loco Shed (DLS) in the country, an Electric Loco Shed (ELS), Coaching Complex, railway hospital and sports infrastructure is the best place to locate the headquarters among all divisional headquarters in the state, the union leaders said.
Though a specific timeline of one or two months cannot be fixed in view of technicalities involved, the Railway Minister will make the announcement in Vizag.
K. Haribabu
MP and BJP State president
