Why is Konaseema still waiting for its railway line, 26 years on? | Explained
The Kotipalli-Narsapur railway project in Andhra Pradesh remains incomplete 26 years after its foundation stone was laid. Local activists have launched a new movement to demand the completion of the line, citing delays in funding and land acquisition.
Why it matters
The project highlights the challenges of long-term infrastructure execution and inter-governmental coordination in India.
Twenty-six years after its foundation stone was laid, the 57-km Kotipalli-Narsapur railway line in Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Konaseema district is still unbuilt, and the campaign for it has been revived. At a round-table conference in Amalapuram on Tuesday (September 29, 2026), the Konaseema Railway Sadhana Samithi (KRSS) decided to launch a people’s movement, ‘Praja Galam’, and a call for a Konaseema bandh. The meeting was called in response to The Hindu’s Spotlight report of September 18, ‘ 25 years on, Konaseema Railway Line project yet to get on track’, copies of which were distributed among the participants.
The line was the idea of G.M.C. Balayogi, India’s first Dalit Lok Sabha Speaker, who was from Amalapuram. On November 16, 2000, the then Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee laid the foundation stone along with Mr. Balayogi for the line in Amalapuram town.
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