Chhattisgarh authorities Saturday assured the railways of providing adequate security for the 95-km-long Dalli-Rajhara-Raoghat stretch, which falls in Naxal-dominated areas, and asked it to begin work on the crucial project.
The stretch is part of the proposed 235-km Dalli-Rajhara-Jagdalpur line, for which a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed in 2007.
In a meeting May 15, railway general manager Arunendra Kumar had asked state Chief Secretary Sunil Kumar to speed up the land acquisition work and provide adequate security for the project.
Divisional Commissioner Durgesh Chandra Mishra, who was reviewing the progress of the project, asked railway officials to first start construction of bridges and culverts on this stretch. He also asked the officials concerned to inform the affected families regarding the proposal for jobs to 463 farmers.
"On the proposed rail line project, the state administration will provide security as per requirement. We will deploy from a company to a battalion of security forces for safe execution of the project," Mishra told IANS.
The Dalli-Rajhara-Raoghat stretch will cost Rs.631.78 crore and will help facilitate transportation of iron ore from Dalli mines.