Daijiworld Media Network – Bangalore (SP)

Bangalore, Jul 2: The state High Court (HC) has directed the department of railways to file objections if any in case filed against the extension of the Bangalore-Mangalore train to Kannur instead of Karwar. The department has been given four weeks time for the same.

A divisional bench of the HC, comprising Justice V G Sabhahit and Justice A S Bopanna issued this direction, while hearing a petition moved by Paschima Karavali Railway Yatri Abhivriddhi Samiti and Udupi Railway Yatri Sangha. The petitioners had pointed out that it had been decided to extend the above train to Karwar at the inter-regional railway time table committee (IRTTC) that had met in the city in 2009. Southern Railway, South-western Railway and Konkan Railway Corporation had treated this to be a profitable sector. Konkan Railway Corporation had given its nod to run this train on its tracks.

An effort made by the Kerala MPs to extend this train to Kannur as soon as it started running in 2008, was rejected by IRTTC meeting held at Kolkota in 2008. The meeting said that enough trains are running on Mangalore-Kannur sector, and that a separate train moves between Kannur and Bangalore via Salem. Still, the Kerala politicians lobbied hard and succeeded in diverting the train to Kannur, the petitioners have complained. They have said that Kannadigas had sacrificed the highest land for the Konkan Railway project and the state government had contributed 49% of the cost of gauge conversion between Bangalore and Mangalore. They have argued that Goa and Kerala are in fact, reaping most of the benefits of this route, and pointed out that the extended train has in fact been inflicting losses on the railways on its run between Mangalore and Kannur.

In the meantime, the Railway Passengers Committee, Puttur, has learnt through an application made under the Rights to Information Act that the work of laying tracks between Hassan and Bangalore, which would have cut down the distance between Mangalore and the city drastically, has been hit as the state government has not taken a stand on shifting of the Kunigal horse breeding centre through which the proposed tracks pass through.