Even months after laying the foundation stone for Visakha Railway Zone by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and formally launching the zone, the railway operations are yet to begin.
As against the convention of beginning operations from available alternate buildings, before Zonal Office buildings are ready, Railway authorities are making baseless pleas for delay in operations.
The East Coast Railway Zone officials in Odisha, who do not want to give up the Waltair division, which generates the most revenue, are reportedly doing politics behind the scenes. It seems that they are obstructing the zone operations in Visakhapatnam. Incidentally, Railway Minister Ashwani Vaishnav is also a Rajya Sabha member from Odisha, the authorities are said to be hesitating to move forward against his wishes.
It may be recalled that the Railway Minister was conspicuous by his absence when PM Modi launched the zone on January 8. Moreover, all the senior railway officials came from everywhere. But none of the local railway officials or employees were invited to this program
Railways are making excuses that the construction of the zonal office will be completed in two years and then operations will begin. This has not happened anywhere in the railway zones announced so far. Operations were started first and then land was acquired and construction was undertaken.
As part of the state bifurcation, the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Petroleum University and Tribal Universities came to Visakhapatnam. These were first started in rented buildings and then the construction was completed and they were moved. Moreover, the bifurcated AP was shifted from Telangana without a capital city.
Guntur, Guntakal and Vijayawada divisions, which were separated from the South Central Railway with Secunderabad as its center, and the Waltair division with Visakhapatnam as its center, were declared as the ‘South Coast’ zone. Almost the entire AP is in this zone.
The new zone is not confined to the people of Visakhapatnam alone, but provides services to the entire state. Whether new trains or railway lines are needed, the zonal officers should submit proposals. For that to happen, zone operations should start first. The General Manager of the Railway Zone is the chief officer. If he is appointed immediately and sent to Visakhapatnam, operations will start. All the work will be completed in an orderly and fast manner.
Many buildings are available in Visakhapatnam to start railway zone operations immediately. As part of the reconstruction of the railway station, two four-storey buildings have been constructed outside the station as part of the ‘Gati Shakti’ scheme. Each floor has 4,500 square feet of space available. There are new buildings with an area of about 50,000 square feet including the ground floor.
Apart from these, a government school next to the DRM bungalow was recently vacated. It has classrooms in an area of about two acres. These can be used until the zonal office is completed. At least now, the state government leaders should talk to the Center and ensure that railway zone operations start immediately. The necessary gazette should be published for this.
