Coal Secretary inaugurates Chhal siding at SECL, inspects rail project

New Delhi: On the second day of Chhattisgarh tour on Friday, Ministry of Coal's Secretary Amrit Lal Meena reached Chhal through a power wagon from Kharsia Railway Station where he inaugurated the Chaal siding and flagged off the rail rakes. SECL CMD Dr Prem Sagar Mishra and SECL Functional Directors were also present on this occasion.

Speaking on the occasion, Secretary said that under the Pradhan Mantri Gati Shakti Yojana (PM Gati Shakti), the infrastructure related to transportation of coal is being developed in the country and I am confident that this rail corridor will prove to be an important milestone in this regard. At the same time, he called upon the local administration and the residents present to give all possible support in meeting the country's energy needs.

Chhal siding is being built at a cost of more than Rs 3000 crore

The Chaal siding has been constructed under Chhattisgarh East Railway Limited (CERL) Phase 1 project and will connect the bark mine of Raigarh region directly to the rail route and coal dispatch by rail will be done directly from here, which will save both time and money in coal dispatch.

The Chhattisgarh East Railway Limited (CERL) Phase 1 project, being built at a cost of more than Rs 3000 crore, aims to connect the Mand-Raigarh coalfields by rail. Under this 124-km-long project, a 74-km-long main rail line from Kharsia to Dharamjaigarh, a 30-km-long spur line from Gharghoda to Pelma and a 20-km-long feeder line from Chhal, Baroud and Durgapur are being constructed.

In terms of coal reserves, Korba Coalfields is followed by Mand-Raigarh coalfields and as coal production expands, these rail projects will play an important role in dispatching more and more coal in the coming time.

On behalf of the local administration, Raigad District Collector Shri Taran Prakash Sinha and Raigarh SP Shri Sadanand Kumar and SECL Raigarh Area General Manager Shri Hemant Sharad Pandey were present.

Meena inspects CEWRL rail project being developed in SECL Korba coalfields

Meena in the second leg of his visit inspected the railway line being constructed from Gevra Road to Pendra Road under Chhattisgarh East West Railway Limited (CEWRL) project in SECL's Korba coalfields. He along with SECL CMD Dr Prem Sagar Mishra and SECL Functional Directors inspected bridge no. 3 of Urga Kusmunda Connectivity Line. During this, he talked to the officials and inquired about the project progress and issued necessary directions.

This project will play an important role in the transportation of coal from SECL's mega projects operating at Korba coalfield. The project is 191 km long which includes the work of 135.3 km of main line. The project includes Gevara Road, Surakachhar, Dipka, Katghora Road, Bijhara, Putua, Mateen, Sendurgarh, Puttipakhana, Bhadi, Dhangawan and Pendra Road stations. Passenger facilities will also be developed at these stations along with the railway line in the entire corridor. The total cost of CEWRL project is about Rs.4970 crore and land acquisition and forest clearance for its main line has been completed. The project is expected to be completed by December next year. 

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