Visakhapatnam North MLA candidate assures to get railway zone with Waltair division

BJP’s Visakhapatnam North MLA candidate, P Vishnu Kumar Raju, on Friday, filed his nomination for the upcoming election. Speaking to the reporters, Raju, who won from the constituency in 2014, said that he would work towards getting a railway zone including Waltair division for Visakhapatnam.

Quoting that he had worked hard towards fulfilling the promise of establishing a railway zone in Visakhapatnam, Vishnu Kumar Raju said that he will speak to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and make sure that a railway zone, consisting the Waltair division, is announced to Visakhapatnam, Eenadu reported.

The centre had announced a railway zone to Andhra Pradesh on 27 February. Union Railways Minister Piyush Goyal announced that the new railway zone will be named as South Coastal Railway (SCoR) and will be headquartered in Visakhapatnam. He stated that the zone will comprise the existing Guntakal, Guntur, and Vijayawada Division.

The Railways Minister further informed that the present Waltair division will be divided into two parts. One part will be incorporated in the new SCoR, and will be merged with the neighbouring Vijayawada division. The remaining portion, on the other hand, shall be converted into a New Division with headquarters at Rayagada under East Coast Railway in Odisha.

However, the centre’s decision to divide the Waltair division didn’t go down well with many groups in Vizag. Notably, several railway unions had organised a rally protesting the centre’s announcement. Raising slogans of “Save of Heritage Division”, they demanded that the centre reconsider its decision to bifurcate the Waltair division.