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Sunday, Sep 09, 2007
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Tamil Nadu
Special Correspondent
SALEM: Senior Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) leader and Agricultural Minister Veerapandi S. Arumugam on Saturday said inauguration of the Salem Railway Division would be held as scheduled on September 14. Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi would formally declare open the administration building and the fully computerised control room when he visited Salem to lay the foundation stone for development projects such as IT park and super speciality hospital, Mr. Arumugam told reporters. Though the State Government had printed invitations for the September 14 foundation-stone laying function for the IT Park, super speciality hospital and other development projects, to be executed at a cost of Rs. 888 crore, no invitation has been printed for the Salem division’s inauguration. At this juncture, it was “unnecessary” to ask the Chief Ministers of both States to sort out the issue. Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi was adopting a friendly approach towards the neighbouring State, but that should not be construed as weakness, he said. Alleging that Kerala had been interfering with the rights of Tamil Nadu, Mr. Arumugam warned that he would be forced to resort to agitations to retain and safeguard the prestige and rights of Tamils after seeking the Chief Minister’s permission. He was ready to relinquish his ministerial berth for the cause. Talks today
Railway Minister Lalu Prasad would hold talks with Kerala Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan in New Delhi on Sunday on the Salem Railway Division, Minister of State for Railways R. Velu said at Sivaganga. The meeting had been called on the advice of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to find an amicable solution to the issue.
He made this statement after inspecting the ongoing Karaikudi-Manamadurai gauge conversion work at Karaikudi on Saturday. Asked about the participation of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi in the meeting, he said it was Kerala, which raised some apprehensions over forming the Salem division by bifurcating the Palakad division. “As far as the Railways is concerned, there is no problem about the stand over the division. However, we are duty bound to answer doubts raised by Kerala about it,” Mr. Velu said. Answering a question, he said he would not attend the meeting, as he had some prior engagements. Asked whether the proposed inaugural function of the Salem division would be held as per the original schedule, he said inaugural function was only a formality. The division had already started functioning. A sum of Rs.22 crore had already been allocated for carrying out construction for the new division. Mr. Velu said the gauge conversion work between Karaikudi-Manamadurai was progressing well in spite of problems over cement availability and unexpected showers in the region. Nearly 60 per cent of the works had been completed. Out of 197 minor bridges, works on 69 had been completed. Similarly, out of five major bridges, construction works were completed on three bridges. The entire work would be completed by December. After the inspection by the Commissioner for Railway Safety, trains would be operated on this section as a Pongal gift. Mr. Velu said the Railways had earlier announced an express train between Rameswaram and Bhubaneswar. Once the section was opened for traffic, the proposed train would be extended up to Kasi. Similarly, the Sethu Express and the Rameswaram-Chennai Express would run via Karaikudi and Tiruchi. The Minister, accompanied by Chief Engineer, Construction, Rajesh Argal and Hemant Kumar, Divisional Railway Manager, Madurai, visited various project sites and directed the officials to speed up the works considering the forthcoming northeast monsoon.
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