Baijayant reviews Haridaspur-Paradip rail project

Bhubaneswar: Senior BJD leader and Kendrapara MP Baijayant Panda on Monday reviewed the progress of the Haridaspur-Paradip railway project in the presence if the project director.

While the construction of the 82-kilometre long railway project is going on in full swing, the construction of the bridge over river Mahanadi has been completed, it was revealed during the review meeting. Construction of the bridge over River Luna will be completed by June, sources privy to the meeting said.

While an estimate of Rs 1559 crore has been made for the project, Rs 578.05 crore has been spent by January, 2016.

The project, which will be the first railway line in Kendrapara, will provide a boost to industrialisation and create job opportunities, said Panda after reviewing the progress of the project.

Notably, the Haridaspur-Paradip railway project was commissioned in 1995 but work did not start due to lack of political will. After Panda was elected to the parliament in 2009, he has been constantly in touch with the Central as well as the State governments to ensure that the project is expedited

In October last year, Panda met Union Environment and Forests Minister Prakash Javadekar and urged him to accord early environmental approval to the Haridaspur-Paradip rail project. The project then received the first phase environmental clearance.