Reported by Manohar Panda; Kasinagar: Gajapati district wore a festive look as around 10,000 people flocked to the station to witness the inaugural run of Gunupur-Puri passenger train on Sunday . Connecting Gunupur-Nuapada in Andhra Pradesh with broad gauge was a long standing demand of locals ,after the rails stop playing the only Gunapur –Nuapada via Parlakhemundi train on narrow gauge in 2002 .

After converting to broad gauge now Gajapati district locals are very happy .The train will helpful for the people of more than 100 villages of Gajapati district , as train fare is much cheaper than bus fare .In the inaugural running Berhampur MP Sidhanta Mahapatra , Parlakhemundi MLA k Narayan Rao ,Gunpur MLA Ramamurti Mitika along with railway officers are present in the occasion .