Mungantiwar asks Railways to speed up Chandrapur, Ballarshah station redevelopment

MLA Sudhir Mungantiwar held a meeting with Divisional Railway Manager Vinayak Garg at the Central Railway's Nagpur divisional office. He said clearly that the redevelopment of the Chandrapur and Ballarshah railway stations should be completed quickly. Both stations should be state-of-the-art, attractive and distinctive, and passenger amenities should be improved considerably, he said.

The meeting discussed in detail several issues, including naming the "Tadoba Express", increasing train frequencies, stalled railway projects, land acquisition, a foot overbridge and traders' concerns. Mungantiwar also followed up on resolving these issues.

He laid particular stress on completing work on the Chandrapur and Ballarshah stations quickly under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme. He said development should not be limited to infrastructure but should give passengers modern facilities and reflect the distinct identity of Chandrapur district. He asked that the current status of the works be reviewed and the necessary action speeded up.

He also asked that the proposal to name the new Ballarshah-Lokmanya Tilak Terminus train the "Tadoba Express" be taken forward. To finalise an attractive and distinctive design for the train, he asked that the process be completed soon after talks with officials of the J.J. School of Art and the Tadoba administration.

The railway administration's attention was also drawn to increasing the frequency of various trains from Ballarshah station and starting a rail service to Pune. Proposals for more trains have been sent to headquarters, and hope was expressed of early positive action on them. It was also pointed out that the scope for adding trains will grow further once the Wardha-Sevagram-Ballarshah third rail line is completed.

He also asked for immediate work on the station's foot overbridge (FOB) and for repairs to the Gol Puliya railway underpass in Ballarpur. He asked Garg for a cement concrete road or high-grade asphalting in the Gol Puliya area to make movement of people safe and easy.

He also took the initiative to resolve the issue of traders in a shopping complex built on Central Railway land in Ballarpur city. Garg assured Mungantiwar at the meeting that he would visit and inspect the situation himself.

He also demanded that the objections of farmers affected by land acquisition for the proposed rail line in the Babupeth-Sasti area be addressed, and that they be given fair compensation and necessary facilities. He also stressed the need to find out the current status of land acquisition in Mauja Ballarpur for the Wardha-Sevagram-Ballarshah third rail line and the dumping yard project.

On the issue of encroachments on Central Railway land in Chandrapur city, he asked that a decision be taken from a humane perspective. He demanded that anti-encroachment action be held back until alternative housing is arranged for those who have encroached. He also said an immediate positive decision was needed on the proposal to extend the Bhagyanagar Express, which runs from Kaghaznagar, to Ballarshah-Chandrapur.

He pressed together on passenger convenience, development of railway infrastructure, farmers' interests and traders' concerns. He expressed the hope that Garg would speed up the necessary action to strengthen rail services in Chandrapur district and settle pending issues. Former MLA Sanjay Reddy Bodkurwar, Ajay Dubey, member of the ZRUCC of Central Railway Mumbai, Divisional Railway Manager Vinayak Garg and railway department officials were present at the meeting.