Bhubaneswar, Oct. 20: About 30 BJD MLAs today met Odisha governor M.C. Bhandare to protest against the railway ministry’s apathy towards the state.

On October 12, Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik had written to Union railway minister C.P. Joshi protesting against the Centre’s move to slash funds allocated to Odisha in the railway budget.

“This is against our projected total demand of Rs 2,345 crore for different projects in Odisha for 2012-13. When Odisha contributes revenue of more than Rs 7,500 crore annually to the Indian Railways, it is a matter of regret that Rs 220 crore has been reduced from the paltry budgetary allocation of Rs 723 crore. Such reductions in budgetary allocation will greatly hamper the process of connectivity in Odisha,” Naveen had said.