BASTAR’S crucial rail connectivity with Odisha and Visakhapatnam remains severely disrupted after relentless rain triggered major landslides along the Kirandul-Kottavalasa (KK) railway line, damaging tracks between Maligura and Chhatariput in East Coast Railway’s Rayagada Division. The devastation is extensive. Earth supporting portions of the track have slipped away, leaving rails and sleepers precariously suspended, while recurring soil movement and debris from adjoining slopes have made the section unsafe for operations. A 132-kV electricity transmission tower also collapsed near Maliguda amid heavy rain and strong winds, further complicating restoration. Railway traffic on the Jagdalpur-Koraput corridor has consequently taken a severe hit. East Coast Railway has cancelled the KirandulVisakhapatnam Passenger, Kirandul-Visakhapatnam Express and Rourkela-Jagdalpur Express services on specified dates. The Howrah-Jagdalpur Express and Bhubaneswar-Jagdalpur Hirakhand Express have also been short-terminated at Koraput, with corresponding return services short-originating there. Freight movement, vital to the mineral-bearing Bastar region, has also been affected by the disruption. Restoration teams are working against difficult terrain and continuing rainfall.

 

Heavy earth-moving machinery has been pressed into service to remove debris, rebuild the washed-out formation and stabilise vulnerable stretches before tracks can be certified fit for operations. East Coast Railway had deployed around 300 workers across multiple rain-affected locations in Rayagada Division as landslides, soil slips and waterlogging emerged at several points. Rayagada Divisional Railway Manager Amitabh Singhal and senior engineering officials have inspected the affected corridor and are supervising restoration. Railway authorities have indicated that operations will resume only after safety inspections establish the section’s fitness for traffic. The disruption has exposed the vulnerability of this strategically important hill railway, where prolonged rainfall can destabilise cuttings, embankments and slopes. For Bastar, every additional day of closure means mounting disruption to passenger movement and freight operations. With restoration still under way, passengers have been advised by East Coast Railway officials to verify train status before commencing journeys.