Bhubaneswar: A proposal to connect the city and Puri with Konark by rail link has been made to the Centre.

BJD MP Pinaki Mishra, in a letter to Union railways minister Piyush Goyal, requested to consider connecting Bhubaneswar and Puri by rail link with Konark and Satapada. He urged the Centre to allocate necessary funds in the coming railway budget for the purpose.

At present, tourists have to get down in Puri or Bhubaneswar rail stations and travel by road to reach out to the places.

"It is a nice plan of the government to link these important tourist destinations with rail network. It will not only give a tremendous experience to the visitors, but also saves a lot of time that goes waste during the travel via roads. The Centre should consider the project since Puri and Konark are major tourist destination of the world," said Ratikant Acharya, a retired government employee.

The BJD MP, who is also the chairman of the parliamentary standing committee on urban development, also urged the Union minister to develop Puri railway station with world-class infrastructure. "I earnestly urge you to sanction special funds for renovation and upgradation of Puri railway station to a world-class standard in the upcoming railway budget," wrote the MP.