Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik today sought Prime Minister Narendra Modi's intervention into the state government's proposals of providing basic amenities and facilities to pilgrims during Nabakalebara festival of Lord Jagannth due next year.
Patnaik urged Modi to strengthen the railway infrastructure and sought his intervention in plying additional special trains and provision of basic amenities at Bhubaneswar and Puri stations before the festival in July 2015.
He said about 50 lakh devotees are likely to throng Puri in view of the festival which comes in a gap of 19 years.
"In order to cater to the huge number of pilgrims and visitors, the railway infrastructure needs to be strengthened and a number of special trains have to be introduced during the period," Patnaik wrote to Modi.
In order to ensure smooth running of extra trains and adequate amenities to the passengers at Puri and adjacent to Bhubaneswar station, Patnaik said, infrastructure needs to be developed.
Expressing concern over the delay in the completion of Cuttack-Barang-Bhubaneswar-Khurda railway tracks, he said that even though Railway has sanctioned 3 tracks between Khurda-Bhubaneswar-Barang and double line between Barang and Cuttack, the stretch between Bhubaneswar and Barang (16 km) is yet to be completed and so also the double line between Barang and Cuttack.
"The section between Khurda-Delang has double line, but doubling work between Delang-Puri (28 km) is yet to be completed. In addition to this, a proposal has been sent to the Railway Board for conjunction of a small bye-pass line (1.3 Kms) costing around Rs 20 crore, avoiding Khurda Junction Station, so that trains ruining from South direction to Puri can directly go to Puri without detention at Khurda Station and subsequent reversal of engine.
"All these works should be taken up on priority basis so as to ensure completion well before July, 2015," Patnaik said in the letter.
