Railways Reassures Odisha: South Coast Zone Won’t Cause Any Loss
1 min read
BHUBANESWAR: Dismissing alarmist narratives, Indian Railways confirmed Wednesday that the South Coast Railway initiative poses zero detriment to Odisha. What began as viral reports claiming major losses for the state were outright rejected as baseless and agenda-driven.
Responding to public outcry, officials mapped out the Visakhapatnam division’s footprint: a compact 53 km from Palasa to Ichchapuram, featuring seven Andhra Pradesh stations – Palasa, Sumadevi, Mandasaroad, Baruva, Sompeta, Jhadupudi, and Ichchapuram – all in Srikakulam district.
No Odisha land or track shifts hands, rendering loss allegations void. The railways implicated motivated actors in amplifying these falsehoods to incite division.
Strengthening Odisha’s position, 696 km of strategic tracks stay with East Coast Railway’s Rayagada division, covering essential routes including Koraput-Singapur Road, Kotavalasa-Kirandul, Kuneru-Therubali, and Gunupur-Paralakhemundi.
A recent gazette notification paves the way for the Visakhapatnam-headquartered zone from June 2026, realigning divisions from South Central and East Coast Railways to include Guntakal, Guntur, Vijayawada, and Visakhapatnam – a win for Andhra’s persistent advocacy.
Odisha’s political spectrum, from BJD and Congress to left parties, has mobilized against the Palasa-Icchapuram move, staging demonstrations and demanding its rollback.
In a public service note, railways cautioned against falling prey to engineered rumors, advocating reliance on verified information to navigate this pivotal rail reorganization.
