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Unless the BJD government takes quick steps to offer land in Kalahandi for a wagon factory, the stir in Kalahandi could become the rallying cry that causes BJD’s downfall

CENTER & ODISHA, Kalahandi, Wagon Factory chitta Comments Off

Following is a page from the Lok Sabha tarnscript of 4th March 2011.

In the part marked by red above, the Railway minister Ms. Mamta Banerjee says:

We are ready to make (the wagon factory) in the land that the government gives us; but if we get land in Kalahandi then we are ready to do one more. But it must be Kalahandi because that is an under-developed area.

So the government is shooting itself on the foot by not taking immediate steps to offer a site in Kalahandi and asking for a second wagon factory.

Some small stirs have started happening on this issue in Kalahandi.

If the issue is not taken care of immediately then this could form the core of a rallying cry from Congress.

On this issue the government is in the wrong and they will have to bow down to do the right thing. The more they delay the more they will lose politically.

No suitable land for Railway wagon factory in Kalahandi!! This is ridiculous.

Ganjam, Kalahandi, Railway Budget 2010, Railway Budget 2011, Wagon Factory chitta 9 Comments »

Following is from a report in Pioneer.

The railway authorities after inspecting number of places in KBK districts and not finding them suitable have identified Santipalli at Berhampur in Ganjam district to set up the proposed rail wagon factory.

According to sources, a rail wagon factory is to be set up in KBK districts of Odisha as per the 2010-2011 Railway Budget. Accordingly, the railway authorities visited Kalahandi, Kesinga, Narla Road, Lanjigarh Road, and Bhawanipatna Railway Station area to find out 100 acres of land adjacent to the rail track and submit a feasible report to the Government of Odisha for acquisition of land. However, the railway administration could not find a suitable place for the purpose and moved to coastal districts for feasible locations for wagon factory.

The Ganjam district administration and rail officers made a joint inspection in the district and found a place at Santipalli near Jagannathpur Railway Station of Berhampur. The State Government has approved to provide the 100 acre of land at Santipalli and the proposal has been sent to Railway Ministry, for their final consent for further plan of action. The project would be taken up in public-private partnership (PPP) mode.

This is ridiculous. I can not believe that there is no suitable land near the railway track in Kalahandi.

Moreover the Railway minister has already said that he can give another wagon factory if a suitable land is found in Kalahandi. So even if some powerful person wants to have a wagon factory in Ganjam, that can still happen while a wagon factory is made in Kalahandi. So the Odisha government should take up on the Railway minister’s offer immediately.