New rail lines to put mineral transportation from C'garh on fast track

The proposed two new rail line projects in coal and iron-rich areas of Chhattisgarh will facilitate speedy transportation of minerals from the state's northern and southern region to different parts of the country, besides helping in the social and economic development of these areas.

The Ministry of Railway has approved a substantial financial allocation of Rs 16.75 crore — Rs 12.25 crore for the Gadchiroli to Bacheli (via Bijapur) line and Rs 4.50 crore for the Korba to Ambikapur line — for the final survey and Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) of the two major new rail line projects.

Both the projects will be executed by the South East Central Railway (SECR), which has headquarters in Chhattisgarh’s Bilaspur district.

The 180-km Korba to Ambikapur rail line is being constructed with the aim of connecting important areas of the state with rail network, while the 490-km Gadchiroli to Bacheli line is being developed with the aim of establishing better rail connectivity of the state with Maharashtra and border areas of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Odisha.

The Korba-Ambikapur rail line will connect two major cities known for having rich coal reserves. Ambikapur is the divisional headquarters of Sarguja, which is endowed with coal mines. A few mines are in the developing stage. With the region getting connected with another coal-bearing area of Korba, the project will help in the fast evacuation of coal.

Similarly, the new rail line from Gadchiroli to Bacheli in Dantewada district will connect the remote areas of Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh to the rail network. This will help in social, economic and educational development of these areas as well as provide new employment opportunities in this area.

Bacheli has a huge reserve of iron ore. However, the evacuation of minerals is routed from Visakhapatnam as Bacheli has no direct rail connectivity to central or northern India. The project connecting Bacheli with Gadchiroli will help in the transportation of minerals to the other parts of the country, especially northern and western regions by shortest route.

At present, work is going on in Chhattisgarh on 25 new rail line projects of 2,731 km at a cost of Rs 37,018 crore.

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for expediting the plan and said the projects would boost development in the Bastar and Surguja regions.