Malkangiri: A week after new Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw took charge, the steps for railway connectivity between Jeypore in Koraput district and Malkangiri have gained momentum with the East Coast Railway (ECoR) starting the land survey work.
A technical team of ECoR with assistance from the Revenue officials of the district are engaged in the survey for acquisition of land required for laying the railway line and constructing the stations. They are identifying the forest land, revenue land and private land that may be acquired for the project, sources in the Revenue department said.
The proposed railway line having a total distance of 126 km will go through Khairput, Mathili and Malkangiri Sadar tehsils of Malkangiri district covering 46 km. In the initial phase, the survey has been going on for land acquisition in 13 revenue villages, the sources said.
It may be noted that the state government and Railway ministry had signed an agreement for the project five years back and the fund was sanctioned in the last year’s budget.
After assuming charge, the new Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw reviewed the implementation and progress of the ongoing projects in Odisha including Jeypore-Malkangiri railway line on Wednesday.
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