Karnataka - Bijapur   

Time running out for Railways to complete Bijapur-Gadag line

Staff Correspondent

Railways, State Government have told the court of completing the work by March

DERAILED: Rails needed for broadgauge conversion work lying at Nimbal Station near Bijapur.

BIJAPUR: Although South Western Railway has accelerated the gauge conversion work on Bijapur-Bagalkot section of Hotgi (Sholapur)-Gadag line, it is unlikely to accomplish the task by March end, the deadline set by Karnataka High Court.

The task of converting 300-km Hotgi-Bijapur narrowgauge line into broadgauge began in 1990s and the work was completed up to Bijapur in 1998.

However, the gauge conversion of the 192-km stretch between Bijapur and Gadag is yet to be completed. In 2002, the railways and the State Government decided to execute the remaining work as a joint venture and signed a pact agreeing to share the cost equally.

But poor allocation of funds ensured that the project progressed at a slow pace. Vishwanath Bhavi, a Bijapur-based merchant, filed public interest litigation (PIL) in the High Court last year seeking direction to the parties concerned to expedite the project adhering to schedules.

The court disposed of the PIL, after the South Western Railway and the State Government filed separate undertakings assuring the court of speedy completion. The South Western Railway said the work between Bijapur and Bagalkot will be completed by March and conversion work on Bagalkot-Gadag line will be taken up soon after. It promised to start train service on Bijapur-Bagalkot section by June. The State Government, on its part, promised the court that its share of the project cost will be released to the South Western Railway in time to execute the work expeditiously.

Work on the 45-km Bijapur-Telgi section has reached decisive stage. The broadgauge is ready on this section. Finishing work such as soldering of rails, level crossings, packing and installing signals are in progress. The work has been speeded up on Telgi-Bagalkot section. About 5,400 tonnes of rails needed for the section, according to sources in the South Western Railway, have been augmented. With regard to sleepers, another key input, little over 60,000 pieces have been procured.

The section still needs 20,000 sleepers. The court undertaking has come in handy for the South Western Railway and it is trying to procure sleepers from other zones.

The rails and sleepers have been offloaded at small stations and open yards along the Sholapur-Bijapur rail route. The task of transporting these inputs to work sites has been slow because of poor accessibility to gauge conversion line on Telgi-Bagalkot section. Major works such as laying of sleepers and rails can be completed (up to Bagalkot) by June. It again depends on how quickly the remaining quantum of sleepers is procured. Installation of signals is likely to be over by August as the tendering process is still at initial stages, sources said.

According to Mr. Bhavi, the railways and the State Government should allocate Rs. 30 crores each in their budget for the purpose. According to his information, the State Government is yet to release Rs. 13.6 crores to the South Western Railway for the work done.

Mr. Bhavi, who has formed a watchdog committee consisting prominent citizens to monitor the progress of the project, says the pace of work till Bagalkot is not bad.

The line can be put to optimum use only when the bottleneck (narrowgauge line between Bagalkot and Gadag) is removed. Then the line will emerge as an alternative route to congested routes such as Bangalore-Mumbai. He expects the State and the Railways to exhibit their commitment to the court through their budgets.

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