East Coast Railway submits final report of Puri-Konark railways line

The final survey report of the railway line between Puri and Konark connecting Puri-Konark-Bhubaneswar Golden-Triangle has been completed.The proposed railway project was stuck for years which has now been put on a fast track. A few days ago, the East Coast Railway (ECoR) submitted the final report to the Railway Board. The ECoR has conveyed a preliminary engineering and traffic (PET) survey for the Puri-Konark railway line in 2017. The forest department has objected to the alignment of the route on the railway ground that was to pass through the Balukhand-Konark wildlife sanctuary in the coastal regulatory zone (CRZ). According to the letter by the ECoR to the president of Puri Vikas Parishad, Jagannath Bastia, a new PET survey has been carried out excluding the wildlife sanctuary. The final survey was completed and submitted to the Railway Board on 21 August. Puri Vikash Parishad has given a memorandum to the railway ministry, Ashwini Vaishnaw, to sanction a budget for the project. Bastia told the media that the new railway line would be constructed on the opposite side of the road. The area facing the seaward side of the road falls under the sanctuary and CRZ, and the marine drive road does not fall within the eco-sensitive zone. Earlier, CM Naveen Patnaik proposed to bear 50% of the project cost of the Puri-Konark rail line to boost the tourism of the Bhubaneswar-Konark-Puri Golden Triangle. Image Source Also read: Tambaram-Chengalpattu third rail line to ease congestion