Daijiworld Media Network - Mangalore (SP)
Mangalore, Jul 8: A meeting of the people to consolidate their opinion against the railway ministry's decision to extend the passenger train between Bangalore and the city to Kannur in Kerala that has heaped injustice on the citizens of the city, has been convened at the auditorium of Kanara Chamber of Commerce and Industry(KCCI) here at 3.30 pm on Wednesday July 8.
KCCI president Srinivas S Kamath said that the passengers from the district will be deprived of a number of seats for which they are eligible in the said train, if the train is extended up to Kannur as announced in the budget. The meeting is meant for pooling public opinion against this move and to create public awareness on the issue. Various associations, institutions, organizations and non-governmental organizations will take part in the meeting, he explained.
In the meantime, MLA U T Khader has expressed his strong opposition to the extension of the said train to Kannur. District Congress vice-president Ivan D'Souza also has urged the railway ministry to reverse its decision and run the train between the city and the state capital. D'Souza said, that union minister Veerappa Moily has been requested for introducing a day-train between the above two cities and additional train service between the city and Mumbai. He said that Moily has been appraised of the benefits of extending the Bangalore train to Karwar instead of Kannur.
Ivan has urged MP Nalin Kumar Kateel to bring pressure on the railway minister, to start the day-train as above. Organizing train blockades is not a solution in itself to the problem, he has advised.
'Tuluvere Chavadi' Bangalore has asked the union government to develop the alternative route from here to Bangalore via Arasikere. It has observed that in various parts of India, railways has become an integral part of the day-to-day life while in the Karnataka coast, no effort has been made to markedly improve the train services since the last many years. Instead of upgrading the city railway station, the department could have given importance to developing alternative railway routes between these two important cities," it has opined.