Karnataka - Bijapur   

Citizen's forum members stop train

Staff Correspondent

Adequate allocation of funds sought for Bijapur-Bagalkot-Gadag gauge conversion work

FOR BROADGUAGE: Members of Bijapur Citizens' Forum staging `rail roko' in Bijapur on Tuesday.

BIJAPUR: Members of Bijapur Citizens' Forum and a few non-governmental organisations staged a "rail roko" here on Tuesday in support of their demand for budgetary allocation for Bijapur-Gadag line gauge conversion.

The protesters, who gathered at the Railways station, stopped Bijapur-Raichur train for half an hour. They squatted on the track and raised slogans against the State Government and the Railways.

Forum convenor Ramesh Bidnur, office-bearers Raju Gachchinmath and Shankar Kumbar, and women's rights activist Lakshmi Desai, who addressed the protesters, criticised the Government for neglecting the project for several years.

They said the formation of Karnataka Rail Infrastructure Development Enterprise (K-RIDE), a joint venture of the State Government and the Railways, has not helped matters. In the last few budgets, neither the Railways nor the State Government allocated sufficient funds for the project.

The project, which was started in the early 1990s, should have been completed by 1998. The Railways could complete gauge conversion only up to Bijapur (from Sholapur) by that time. The project cost, which was less than Rs. 250 crores initially, had shot up to Rs. 380 crores.

Referring to the struggle for the project, the protesters said broadgauge is crucial for the development of the region. The district grows large qualities of grapes and pomegranates but is not in a position to get lucrative market for want of viable transportation.

The district has several heritage sites such as Pattadkal and Badami. The tourism potential has not been tapped for want of adequate transport facilities. If the narrow gauge line between Bijapur and Gadag is converted into broadgauge, it can provide alternative link between southern and northern parts of the country.

The protesters handed over a memorandum addressed to Railway

Minister Lalu Prasad to a railway official. In the memorandum, they reminded the Railways about the High Court directive on the project. As per the commitment given to the court by the Railways and the State Government, the broadgauge conversion is to be completed up to Bagalkot by next month (March) end, and work on the rest of Bagalkot-Gadag line has to be started later.

Mr. Bidnur said a meeting of MLAs from Bijapur, Bagalkot and Gadag districts will be called soon to finalise the strategy to ensure adequate budgetary allocation. It has been decided to take a delegation to Bangalore, he said.

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