The Hindu : Karnataka / Mangalore News : BJP members stage rail roko

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, May 31, 2005

Karnataka

Karnataka - Mangalore

BJP members stage rail roko

Staff Correspondent

Chennai Mail blocked; passenger service sought up to Subramanya Road

RAIL ROKO: BJP workers blocking the Mangalore-Chennai Mail at the Central Railway Station in Mangalore on Monday.

MANGALORE: Members of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led by the Mangalore MP, D.V. Sadananda Gowda, blocked the Mangalore-Chennai Mail at the Central Railway Station here for nearly an hour on Monday demanding that the Railways start passenger train service up to Subramanya Road (Nettana) and complete the gauge-conversion work between Sakleshpur and Subramanya Road on the Mangalore-Hassan line at the earliest.

Manorama Madhwaraj, Udupi MP; N. Yogish Bhat, S. Angara, Krishna Palemar, B. Nagaraja Shetty, Shakuntala Shetty, Prabhakara Bangera, and Padmanabha Kottari, MLAs; Pratap Simha Nayak, President of the BJP district unit; and Vishveshwara Bhat Bangaradkka, general secretary, participated in the protest.

The Chief Engineer of the Palghat division, Southern Railway, arrived at the spot and met the protesters. He explained to them the steps being taken by the Railways to meet their demands.

Trial run

Mr. Sadananda Gowda told presspersons at the station that the General Manager of the Palghat division, Southern Railway, who spoke to him over phone, assured him that a report on the trial run conducted by the Railways between Puttur and Subramanya Road last week will be submitted to the Railway Safety Committee on Tuesday. Later, trains with empty coaches will be run between Puttur and Subramanya Road on trial basis for four days. Passenger train service up to Subramanya Road will be started by June 10, he added.

Mr. Sadananda Gowda said the General Manager had also assured him that the gauge-conversion work between Sakleshpur and Subramanya Road will be completed by June 30.

The MP said the BJP will resume the agitation if the Railway authorities fail to keep their promise. Trains on the Konkan Railway route will also be blocked at the Kankanady station, he warned.

Change of name

To a query, Mr. Gowda said the consultative committee of the Railways, which met on April 27, agreed to change the name of the Kankanady railway station to Mangalore Junction. The main station will be named Mangalore Central, he added.

The committee also looked into the demand of bringing the railway stations in Mangalore under the South-Western Railway Zone from the Southern Railway, he said.

It may be mentioned here that the former Railway Minister, Nitish Kumar, flagged off the passenger train service between Mangalore and Puttur in 2003.

`Rs. 57 to reach Bangalore'

If train service is introduced between Mangalore and Bangalore, the State capital can be reached by paying just Rs. 57 from the port city, Mr. Pratap Simha Nayak said.

Addressing protesters, Mr. Nayak said the completion of the gauge-conversion work is the need of the hour for the rapid growth of the coastal region. Introduction of trains between Mangalore and Bangalore will be a boon to the people. Passengers from Mangalore pay Rs. 57 to reach Goa (Panaji) by train, he said and added that the same fare can be charged for a ticket to Bangalore.

Mr. Sadananda Gowda alleged that the Congress has neglected coastal regions.

The Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee President and MP, B. Janardhana Poojary, is not raising development issues pertaining to the region in Parliament, he alleged.

Mr. Yogish Bhat said the completion of the gauge-conversion work between Subramanya Road and Sakleshpur will connect the New Mangalore Port with the Chennai and Visakhapatnam ports. The State Government has not released its share for the completion of the gauge-conversion work, he alleged.

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