Uncertainty over the issue of the Visakha railway zone has been continuing for the last 10 years in the Narendra Modi-led NDA government. After the formation of coalition government in Andhra Pradesh, in which BJP is also a part, it is being widely believed that all hurdles over the Zone are likely to be cleared.
Every time he visits Delhi, Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu has been persuading Prime Minister Narendra Modi to lay the foundation stone for it. After the Prime Minister’s visit to Visakhapatnam was finalized for January 8, the state government felt that he would lay the foundation stone for the South Coast Railway Zone office, finally during this time.
However, still no clarity was given that whether the Waltair Railway Division will be kept or the zone will come? The country’s highest-earning railway division, Waltair (Visakhapatnam), earns an annual income of about Rs. 8,900 crores from freight transport. This division, established in 1893, has a glorious history of 131 years.
The BJP is relentlessly trying to snatch such a Waltair division and give it the South Coast Zone, but is delaying it. It is trying to commit a serious betrayal to Visakhapatnam by merging Waltair division with Rayagada division and Vijayawada division.
Visakhapatnam railway officials stated that till now they could not get any information from the Prime Minister’s office that foundation stone laying was included in his tour programme. But, leaders of TDP alliance parties are saying that during his Visakha visit, Prime Minister Modi will lay the foundation stone for the railway zone office.
Even local railway officials are in confusion on the actual site selected for the railway zonal office. Is it 52 acres in Mudah Sarawak? Will it be 16 acres in Wireless Colony, a railway site in the heart of the city? Railway officials are in a state of confusion as the government has not decided.
At a stage where the location is being decided, which place will be shown to the Prime Minister? There is a debate among railway staff. Central BJP leaders have been giving assurance for the South Coast Railway Zone with Visakhapatnam as the center since 2014.
This has been a demand of the people of Northern Andhra for the last three decades. It was initially stated that tenders should be submitted by December 27, 2024. Central BJP leaders are stating that arrangements were being made for the construction of a huge 11-storey building on 16 acres in Wireless Colony and an estimate of Rs 149.16 crore had been prepared for the construction of nine floors, including the Railway Zonal Manager’s office, besides two floors for cellar parking.