Bhubaneswar: April 18: On Sunday, Congress workers and members of youth congress protest Union Minister for Railway Suresh Prabhu on shifting of wagon factory from Kalahandi District to Vizag.
Sources said, around hundred congress workers entered the railway station shouting slogans and staged Dharna in front of the ticket reservation counter. Also, some of the workers could be able to show black flags to Union Minister.
Police arrested few congress workers and managed to handle the situation. The decision of shifting wagon factory from Odisha’s Kalahandi district to Vizag has created a political storm in the state. Notably, various organisations including congress call bandh in Kalahandi on this issue, which forced Chief Minister of Odisha to write letter to Railway Ministry to clarify on it.
Reacting to the issue, Union Minister of State for Railways Manoj Sinha said, no such approval was given for the proposed wagon repair workshop in Odisha’s Kalahandi district. As per the rules, the project proposal approved by the Railway Board are mentioned in the Pink Book (in which the yearly plan for Railways growth is spelt out with financial details).
Whereas Union Minister Suresh Prabhu announced that a joint verification group will be formed jointly by Railway Ministry and Odisha Government to verify the feasibility of establishment of wagon factory in Kalahandi District and Ganjam District.
