Bhubaneswar, May 6 (IANS) The Indian Railways on Wednesday once again clarified that the creation of the South Coast Railway would not result in any loss to Odisha, terming reports suggesting otherwise as misleading and motivated.

In an official statement, authorities said the clarification was issued in response to widely circulated reports claiming that Odisha stood to lose significantly because of the formation of the new South Coast Railway zone.

The Railways dismissed such claims as factually incorrect and alleged that they were being spread by persons and groups with vested interests.

According to official information, the newly formed South Coast Railway’s Visakhapatnam Division includes a 53-km stretch from Palasa to Ichchapuram, comprising seven stations — Palasa, Sumadevi, Mandasa Road, Baruva, Sompeta, Jhadupudi and Ichchapuram — all located in Andhra Pradesh’s Srikakulam district.

The Railways said this clearly establishes that no part of Odisha is being transferred to Andhra Pradesh, making claims of territorial loss baseless.

Meanwhile, a total of 696 km of railway routes, including the Koraput-Singapur Road, Kothavalasa-Kirandul, Kuneru-Therubali and Gunupur-Paralakhemundi sections, will continue to remain under the newly formed Rayagada Division of the East Coast Railway.

The Railways reiterated that under no circumstances was any part of Odisha being brought under the administrative jurisdiction of Andhra Pradesh.

It also urged the public not to be misled by what it described as baseless and motivated misinformation.

Notably, the Centre recently issued a gazette notification establishing the South Coast Railway Zone with its headquarters in Visakhapatnam with effect from June 1, 2026.

The new zone will include divisions such as Guntakal, Guntur, Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam after reorganisation of the South Central Railway (SCR) and East Coast Railway (ECoR), fulfilling a long-pending demand of Andhra Pradesh.

However, the move has triggered protests in Odisha, with the BJD, Congress, Left parties and several other opposition groups demanding an immediate rollback of the decision to transfer the Palasa-Ichchapuram section to the South Coast Railway (SCoR).

–IANS

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