Naveen Asks Prabhu To Clarify Over Rail Wagon Unit Shifting

BHUBANESWAR: After hue and cry over shifting of rail wagon maintenance workshop from Odisha’s Kalahandi district to Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh, Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday sought clarification from railway minister Suresh Prabhu over the fate of the project.

“I hope that recent reports on the shifting of the Wagon Maintenance Workshop from Odisha to Andhra Pradesh are untrue, and I would request a line of confirmation from you to assuage the feelings of neglect and hurt which people of Odisha have suffered,” said the chief minister in a letter to Prabhu.

He said the recent media reports insinuating shifting of the rail wagon repair unit from Odisha to Andhra Pradesh is a matter of concern for the state.

The chief minister said the then Minister of Railways had declared setting up of the wagon unit in Kalahandi district in Railway Budget 2013-14 while the state government had offered 2 patches of land measuring 70.02 acres and 44.70 acres near Narla road station.

He said Railways have 3 large coach/wagon workshops in Andhra Pradesh, whereas Odisha has no wagon workshop.

Notably, the Kalahandi district Congress unit has given a bandh call on April 6 protesting shifting of the wagon factory to Andhra Pradesh.