Sambalpur: Demand to run Bande Bharat Express Train at 3 stops for Western Odisha
Sambalpur: Western Development Party has demanded to run Bande Bharat Express train at one stop from Bargarh to Sambalpur, Jharsuguda, Rourkela to Howrah. As there is no direct fast train from Bargarh to Howrah, party president Laxman Kumar Bhoi proposed to run Bande Bharat Express at this station for the convenience of people.
On the other hand, eminent academician Prof. Shankar Prasad Pati has demanded to sanction Bande Bharat Express at 2 stops for Western Odisha. In a letter to Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnab, he has proposed to run one stop from Rourkela to Visakhapatnam via Sambalpur, Titilagarh, Rayagada and one stop from Bhubaneswar via Angul, Sambalpur, Jharsuguda, Bilaspur. He mentioned that while the health services in Western Odisha are in dire condition, it is necessary to take this step to connect the people here with the cities where better health services are available.
According to Shankar Prasad Pati, there is not a single high quality super specialty hospital in Western Odisha. The condition of Burla Hospital is deplorable. People here have to go to Cuttack, Bhubaneswar or cities outside the state to get better health services. There has been a demand for a super specialty hospital here for a long time, but the government is not paying attention. Therefore, at the very least, if fast connecting trains are arranged for this area, people can go to other cities at their own convenience and get better health services. He pointed out that since Bhubaneswar, Raipur, Bilaspur and Visakhapatnam have advanced super specialty hospitals, if these cities are connected to Western Odisha, it will be a boon for the local people.
