Puri, Oct 3 [UDN}:Residents of the Kotpad region have demanded that the newly introduced train service operating between Puri and Koraput be extended up to Jagdalpur in Chhattisgarh.
The Kotpad Intellectual Forum submitted a memorandum in this regard through the Kotpad Station Master to Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, the Divisional Railway Managers (DRMs) of Rayagada and Bhubaneswar, and the General Manager of East Coast Railway, Bhubaneswar.
The memorandum was submitted under the leadership of Forum convenor Pankaj Patra. Advocate Pradip Bakshi, Srimanta Panda, Chinmay Sarangi, K. Ravi Kumar and others were present on the occasion.
According to the forum, the train currently reaches Koraput around midnight and departs for Bhubaneswar at around 5 am. As a result, passengers from the Kotpad area face considerable difficulty travelling during the late-night and early-morning hours. The existing schedule is also said to create difficulties for people from neighbouring Malkangiri and Nabarangpur districts who depend on the service for travel towards Odisha’s major cities.
The forum argued that extending the Puri–Koraput train to Jagdalpur would improve rail connectivity for a wider population across the southern Odisha and adjoining Chhattisgarh region and provide passengers with more convenient travel options.
The Kotpad Intellectual Forum has further informed that a delegation will meet the Railway Minister in the coming days and request the Centre to consider the demand for extending the train service up to Jagdalpur.
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