Alleging negligence towards Odisha in the rail budget, workers and leaders of different political parties including ruling BJD staged rail rokos and dharnas at railway stations across the state today.
Dharnas were held by non-Congress parties at stations like Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Balasore, Bhadrak, Jharsuguda, Titlagarh and Jeypore, where protesters voiced their anger over delay in completion of various projects including Bolangir-Khurda railway line.
A couple of trains were delayed here due to a rail roko by Left party workers at Bhubaneswar railway station, Railways sources said adding another such agitation by BJD workers at Titlagarh left Puri-Surat Express and Titlagarh-Bilaspur trains stranded for sometime.
Addressing party demonstrators at Bhubaneswar, BJD leaders Amar Satpathy and Sanjay Dasburma lamented that Rail minister Pawan K Bansal had allocated only Rs 869 crore to Odisha against a demand of Rs 3,050 crore for various projects.
BJD workers would stage dharnas at railway stations across the state tomorrow too in protest against the 'meagre provision' for Odisha in the 2013-14 rail budget, which they termed as 'highly disappointing', party sources said.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had yesterday criticised the rail budget calling it a 'step-motherly' treatment to Odisha.
