For almost ten years, the issue of Visakha Railway zone formation has been going on like three steps forward and six steps back. During the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Visakhapatnam before the last assembly elections, the YSP leaders rushed to lay the foundation stone for the railway zone, but nothing materialized.
Visakhapatnam Railway Zone, which is one of the key promises of bifurcation, has now taken a major step forward. Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav made a key announcement regarding the establishment of a railway zone in Visakhapatnam with the formation of NDA governments at the center and states.
He said that the establishment of a new railway zone will soon be fulfilled in accordance with the long wait and aspirations of the people of Andhra Pradesh. He revealed that all kinds of discussions have been completed between the central and state governments regarding the establishment of a railway zone in Visakhapatnam and the timing for the establishment of the railway zone will be decided soon.
He said that Chandrababu Naidu government is extending full cooperation in allotment of land and other aspects required for the railway zone and also rectified the problems in land acquisition during the previous government.
He said that there were objections regarding the land allocated during the previous government’s tenure, and in this context, discussions between the central and state government officials on the allocation of land elsewhere have been held positively, the disputes over the land allocation have been resolved and almost all the obstacles to the establishment of the zone have been removed.
On the other hand, the Central Government has already allocated funds for the establishment of Visakha Railway Zone. However, there is a delay in setting up office space. The YSP government has delayed in providing the 52 acres of land requested by the central government. Due to this, the establishment of the railway zone office is getting delayed.
