Letter to CM: Speeding up Railway Wagon Factory in Orissa

To

The Chief Minister, Mr Naveen Patnaik

CC
The Railway Minister, Smt Mamata Banerjee
MPs from Orissa
Media


Dear honorable Chief Minister Mr Patnaik,
You may be aware that Ministry of Railway, Government of India has proposed five Wagon Factories through PPP mode across India and one of them might be located in Orissa, probably in Kalahandi region.

Earlier there has been an incessant demand for a railway factory in Kalahandi region since past decades and perhaps due to that railway ministry has considered the proposal. Steps taken by Ms Mamata Banerjee in this issue is laudable, indeed people are thankful to her.

Orissa state Government, personally honorable chief minister, had also requested railway ministry to establish a factory in the backward region of the state in previous years.

In the past central institutions have been established in Koraput region such as HAL project in Sunabeda, NALCO in Damanjodi, Central University in Koraput, recently proposed CSIR center in Koraput as well as in Balangir region such as Ordinance factory, Food and Craft Institute and recently proposed Ultra Mega Power Plant in their respective local levels. However, during past 62 years nothing has been made for any such central Government establishment in Kalahandi region though Kalahandi was denied Central University at the last moment. The region has been continuously marginalized due to political negligence since independence for any central Government funded establishment.

Door step opportunities coming to Kalahandi was being shifted to other locations due to various reasons leaving this region totally in dry and murky. This is when social scientists have been consistently raising backwardness of Kalahandi in the national level and high rate of unemployment rate in the local level of Kalahandi is being reported by the state media. In this context industrial development, especially like Wagon Factory, may bring enormous opportunities in the local level.

The railway ministry has clearly mentioned Kalahandi as one of the probable candidate for the Wagon Factory in Orissa in the railway budget speech. Therefore, it is necessary to take proper initiative in advance to establish the proposed Wagon factory in Kalahandi region of Orissa.

For overall development of the KBKK (Kalahandi, Balangir, Koraput and Kandhamal) region Kalahandi is rightly located in the center. I anticipate you will look into the matter personally with the railway ministry, like you have been doing for the various other projects for the benefit of other localities in Orissa, and speed up the process to establish the Wagon Factory in Kalahandi.

Thanking You