Bhubaneswar, March 12: The authorities of East Coast Railway (ECoR) have expedited the construction of two additional platforms at Bhubaneswar railway station keeping an eye on the Nabakalebar festival scheduled for July this year.
The construction gained momentum this week after encroachments were removed from the site.
"The process of eviction is complete. We will fence the area so that no one can resettle. We are happy with the action taken by the civic authorities. The platform expansion work will pick up pace," said chief public relation officer of ECoR, J.P. Mishra.
Though the construction started in January this year, the delay in rehabilitating around 600 slum dwellers residing in five slums adjacent to platform No. 4 of the city railway station has delayed the process.
Even the East Coast Railway had also urged the state government to remove squatters to facilitate the construction of additional platforms.
Railway officials said around 40 per cent of the work for two additional platforms was complete and these would be open to public for use before the Nabakalebar.
Sources in the ECoR said at present nearly seven lakh passengers use the railway station every month. More than 120 trains originate or pass through the Bhubaneswar railway station everyday. With an annual footfall growth of 20 per cent, the passengers have been demanding additional platforms for quite some time now. At present, the station has four additional platforms.
"The railway station is one of the most important one in the state. The existing four platforms are not sufficient for passengers and as a result of which the platforms remain crowded during busy hours. The authorities should complete the work at the earliest," said Abhimanyu Swain, a passenger.
Railway officials said plan to set up two more platforms other than those that were under construction was also in the pipeline.
"However, the present focus is on the construction of two platforms, which would be used during the Nabakalebar," said a railway official.
Earlier, the ECoR and the state government had proposed to spend nearly Rs 230 crore for upgrade of the city railway station. The proposal includes a multi-level parking lot, a new building and a flyover at the Master Canteen Square roundabout.
