Odisha no longer needs to approach Center for railway funds: Vaishnav

Bhubaneswar: Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Sunday said Odisha government no longer has to approach the Centre to seek funds for development of the sector as it has provided the “highest-ever” allocation to the State this year. During the regime of the previous government, delegations from Odisha used to visit New Delhi to seek funds for the State for railway projects, he said. “At that time, Odisha was receiving on an average Rs 800 crore in a year (as railway allocation in budget)… Now, the Narendra Modi government has allocated Rs 10,000 crore to the State for the railway sector (in the latest budget),” Vaishnaw said. The pace of railway work has also increased in the State. While about 50 km of new railway lines were being constructed earlier, now it has been enhanced to 450 km last year, he said. “A target has been set to lay 500 km of railway line in the current financial year,” the minister said. On the new Khurda-Bolangir railway line, Vaishnaw said work from Khurda to Daspalla and from Bolangir to Sonepur has been completed. “Speedy work is under progress for the remaining portion of the project,” he added. Vaishnaw was speaking here at an event organised to witness the launch of the PM Vishwakarma Yojana in Delhi.