FOR BETTER CONNECTIVITY: The track doubling project will be a boost to the economic growth of the region.

MYSORE: People's expectation on the doubling of the railway track between Mysore and Bangalore have soared following Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy's promise that the State Government will meet its financial commitment to execute the project on a cost-sharing basis.

He promised this to C.H. Vijayashankar, Mysore MP, recently. The MP told The Hindu that a letter of assurance to release the balance of amount to take up the project will be issued within a week.

Likewise, the Chief Minister has issued oral orders to take up a survey for a metro project for Mysore in view of its anticipated growth. The proposal was mooted by the Mysore Urban Development Authority (MUDA) last year.

However, it is the doubling of the railway track that holds the key to Mysore's development and growth and is a long-pending demand of the people of south Karnataka. The demand has been espoused at various fora by members of the Mysore Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Confederation of Indian Industry, commuting public and investors all of whom are unanimous in their view that this project could change the fortunes of the city for good. Hence, the people are eagerly awaiting the railway budget on Friday.

The 139-km stretch between the two cities is expected to cost nearly Rs. 350 crores.

It will reduce the commuting time from the existing three hours to less than 90 minutes and will accelerate industrialisation and development.

The "Bangalore-Mysore Corridor Technical, Economic and Social Potential" study conducted by Deo and Associates with inputs from D.M. Nanjundappa, who was the Deputy Chairman of the State Planning Board, and Paul from the National Institute of Advanced Studies, states that the project benefit outstrips the cost and will augur well for the growth of Bangalore rural, Mandya, Mysore, Chamarajanagar and Kodagu districts.

Experts envisage the stretch between Bangalore and Mysore to develop and transform into an urban corridor and visualise industrialisation akin to Mumbai-Pune or the Mumbai-Surat belt with the double line track connecting a cluster of towns that support a vast hinterland spread across the three districts.

Bidadi has emerged as a hub of automobile industry and its spin off is beginning to be felt in Ramanagaram and Channapatana.

Experts say that the track-doubling project will benefit 15 million people and help disperse economic growth and bring business to other centres such as Maddur, Mandya and Mysore along the corridor. The State Government has envisaged an investment of more than Rs. 1,000 crores in Mysore with major information technology companies evincing interest in it. The Government's policy to promote Tier - II cities such as Mysore can best be achieved by giving a thrust to the track-doubling project, according to members of the CII and MCCI.

If the city is to be promoted as the "most preferred investment destination" then it cannot do without infrastructure and connectivity to Bangalore, according to industrialists.

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