Ahead of PM’s visit to Vizag, uncertainty looms over commencement of railway zone works

Will the Prime Minister lay the foundation stone for construction of the South Coast Railway (S Co R) Zone headquarters during his visit to Visakhapatnam on January 8? This is the question that has been haunting rail enthusiasts and rail users of the region for the past few days.

This is because railway officials have not attended the review meeting conducted by the Collector, to discuss arrangements for the programmes as part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Visakhapatnam.

While some railway sources, including trade union activists, opine that the PM will lay the foundation stone this time, others feel that it may be delayed further and back their contention citing the absence of railway officials at the meeting convened by the Collector on Thursday (January 2) with officials of various departments in the city.

Earlier in November 2022, after much expectation, people were left disappointed as Mr. Modi had failed to commence the zonal headquarters works when he visited Visakhapatnam to lay the foundation for various development works, including the redevelopment of the Visakhapatnam railway station.

DPR ‘still under consideration’

Meanwhile, the Railway Board is ‘still considering’ the Detailed Project Report (DPR) submitted for SCoR, more than five years ago, according at a reply received under the RTI Act by K. Eswar on November 19, 2024.

“The delay in the operationalisation of SCoR is resulting in vacant posts in the Waltair Division being transferred to the Khurda and Sambalpur Divisions in Odisha. I had brought the issue to the notice of Visakhapatnam MP M. Sribharat and he had apprised the Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw of the same. I am confident that the Prime Minister will lay the foundation stone this time,” says Chalasani Gandhi, former general secretary of East Coast Railway Shramik Union (EcoRSU).

“The date for operationalisation of SCoR should be announced during the Prime Minister’s visit to the city. The existing railway buildings or leased buildings, or even the five-storied Gati Shakti building, located close to the railway station, can be used for the General Manager’s Office, pending construction of the headquarters building,” Mr. Gandhi adds.