BHUBANESWAR: With the Ministry of Railways sanctioning the new broad gauge (BG) line between Jeypore and Nabarangpur as per the announcement in the 2016-17 Railway Budget, Nabarangpur district will now come in the railway map of India.
The Odisha Government will bear the entire cost of land and 50 per cent of the construction cost of the project. The Government had signed an MoU with the Railway Ministry at New Delhi on October 10, 2016 to share the cost of the project.
The project cost of the 38-km line is `747.91 crore. The project will be completed in three years. The railway line will connect Nabarangpur with Jeypore, an existing station on Kottavalasa-Kirandul line. This line will provide connectivity to important towns including Koraput, Jeypore, Jagdalpur, Dantewada. Besides, the railway line will connect Nabarangpur to Junagarh in Kalahandi district.
Several BJD leaders from the undivided Koraput district, including Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe Development Minister Ramesh Majhi, BJD MPs from Koraput and Nabarangpur Jhina Hikaka and Balabhadra Majhi respectively, Rakya Sabha member AV Swami, BJD MLAs from undivided Koraput district, Chairperson of Odisha Film Development Corporation Munna Khan and chairperson of Odisha State Commission for Women Lopamudra Buxipatra thanked the Chief Minister at Naveen Nivas for taking initiative to get the project sanctioned.