RAIPUR,CG: Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai on Wednesday urged the Railway minister to commence at the earliest four major railway projects of the state, Dharamjaigarh-Pathalgaon-Lohardaga New Line Project, Ambikapur-Barwadih New Line Project, Kharsia-Naya Raipur-Parmalaksa New Rail Line Project and Raoghat-Jagdalpur New Rail Line Project.

He was interacting with Union Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw at New Delhi to discuss several pivotal railway projects aimed at enhancing connectivity and fostering economic growth in the state.

Dharamjaigarh-Pathalgaon-Lohardaga New Line Project

The length of the project is 240 Km. The project will enhance connectivity between north Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand, linking towns like Pathalgaon, Kunkuri, Jashpur Nagar, Gumla etc. He said work on the Korba-Dharamjaigarh project is in progress. There is a plan to connect the industrial (Korba) region with Lohardaga through this project. It will connect the region with central India through Korba and Ranchi in the east. The estimated cost of the project is about Rs 16,000 crore.

Ambikapur-Barwadih New Line Project

It is the longest pending demand of people of any region in the country for rail connectivity and will connect (Ambikapur) North Chhattisgarh with (Barwadih) Jharkhand. Construction of the line will provide an alternate route to transport Coal and other minerals towards the northern and eastern part of the country.

The project has an approximate cost of Rs 9,000 crore as it will provide an alternate route from the eastern region to the Western part of the country via Chhattisgarh. The length of the project is 200 Km.

Kharsia-New Raipur-Parmalkasa new railway line project

The proposed project which is 277 Km long will provide an alternative route for the evacuation of coal from SECL and MCL coalfields to the western region of the country. It also bypasses Bilaspur and Raipur stations and provides connectivity to the cement Rich region of Baloda Bazar. Shivrinarayan, a pilgrimage town, will also be connected through the project. Approx cost of the project is about ₹8,000 crores.

Rowghat-Jagdalpur new railway line project

The railway is already constructing the Dallirajhara-Rowghat 95 km new railway line. The line should be extended to Jagdalpur. The new line will enhance the transport of iron ores from the mineral-rich Bastar region to steel industries in Chhattisgarh. It will also promote economic and social development in the tribal areas of Bastar, Kondagaon and Narayanpur. The approximate cost of the project is about Rs 3,500 crore.

Union Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw acknowledged the strategic importance of the projects and assured the Chief Minister of prioritizing their swift implementation.