Daijiworld Media Network — Udupi
Udupi, Jul 9: After union railway minister D V Sadananda Gowda announced the railway budget, the city’s BJP unit shared its views on the topic. When asked about the budget, they said it felt good and was an innovative railway budget.
Pramod Madhwaraj, MLA, Udupi said that he has not seen the railway budget due to his busy schedule.
Shobha Karandlaje, MP of Udupi–Chikmagalur constituency said, “The whole budget is appreciable and he has concentrated on five years.”
She added that she had asked for a survey of Bangalore-Mangalore–Kasargod city area and connecting link between Kerala and Dakshina Kannada region, but this has not been announced and she hoped that he would do this in the upcoming budget.
Former MLA Raghupati Bhat opined, “It is one of the good railway budgets and his first budget too. He has announced the bullet train which would be the first such experiment in our country. The budget was made by scrutinizing all the scarcities namely cleanliness, security and women empowerment; so it is a sign of change.”
He said that he expected more such as making Mangalore a new division. Personally, he expected more than average margin. He did not mention Kadur–Nandikoor track survey and said it was an excellent budget overall.
Veronica Cornelio, president, Mahila Block Congress said that all hopes have dimmed seeing the budget as there are no new technologies being used and no preference was given to coastal Karnataka.
“He mentioned privatization and if this is implemented, it might be a burden on the public. As he mentioned, bullet train is not an easy application, it takes years to materialize,” she said adding that the bullet train is only for namesake.
R L Dias, president, Railway Yatri Sangha said he was badly disappointed by the DVS railway budget and alleged that he had not supported the people of the coastal area.
“Dreams of Mangalore as a new division and the Karkala-Nandikuru-Charmady survey are all dreams that have been crashed by Sadananda Gowda,” he added.
Dias strongly condemned the fact that being a candidate from the coastal area, DVS had dashed all the hopes pinned on him and said that he was not eligible for developing the railway sector.
Thingale Vikramarjuna Hegde, president, BJP Udupi said, “It is a far-sighted budget and he has facilitated separate protection measures for women. He announced a bullet train and also mentioned the Byndoor regional survey. The demand for a separate Konkan Railway will be implemented in the next budget.”
He defended the budget saying it is not a permanent budget and he will make sure that many good things are going to happen in the Udupi-Mangalore region.
Poornima Janardhan, Rotary Club, Udupi said, “The budget is comparatively better than the previous one. It is a public welfare-oriented budget and change and development is a slow process. He could add a few provisions while considering women’s security.”