Jeypore-Malkangiri railway project to get 2676.11 cr

Visakhapatnam: As part of vision of New India by 2022, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved 130 km long Jeypore-Malkangiri new railway line project at a cost of Rs 2676.11 crore and the project is likely to be completed by 2021-22.

The project will cover the districts of Koraput and Malkangiri of Odisha state, said Waltair Railway Division, Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) Mukul Saran Mathur in a press note here on Tuesday.

The DRM said the proposed new line will connect Malkangiri, Boipariguda, Tanginiguda, Mathili, Pondripani Road and other major towns to Jeypore station in the existing Kottavalasa-Kirandul line. Further, the connectivity to important towns, Koraput, Jeypore, Jagdalpur, Dantewara, will also improve.

It will also reduce distance between many other places of Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh. Malkangiri and Koraput districts are identified as left-wing extremism (LWE) affected districts in the country. These areas are also amongst 115 districts.

At present Malkangiri has no railway connectivity and the new line will provide basic infrastructure support for industrial and socio-economic development.

The project will help to improve economic and employment opportunities for the people of this region besides help in combating left wing extremism through development. “In addition, this project will generate 31.2 lakh mandays during the construction of new railway line,” the DRM said.