Silvester D’Souza

Daijiworld Media Network – Kundapur (MS)

Kundapur, Jul 16: Vistadome tourist train has created a lot of curiosity among the people of coastal districts. However, restricting the train from Bengaluru to Mangaluru has irked the people of Udupi and Uttara Kannada districts. There are many picturesque places throughout the length and breadth of the Udupi and Uttara Kannada districts. They will also attract tourists. It seems that the tourism department does not want to develop these places. Citizens are saying that it is not right on the part of the departments, which have the responsibility to develop tourism in the state, to restrict the Vistadome train only till Mangaluru.

There is a widespread demand for the Vistadome train to be extended to Kundapur and Karwar. If the Vistadome train is extended to Karwar via Udupi, Kundapur and Byndoor, tourists can view the beauty of nature including the Panchagangavali river, Gokarna, Murdeshwara, beaches and Ottinene hill. Kundapur railway passengers’ welfare committee has already submitted an appeal in this context to the concerned.

Coastal Karnataka is continuously neglected by the railway department for ages. The facilities given are very few and too late. People of coastal districts have to fight in order to get every benefit of Indian railways. So it is quite natural that the new Vistadome train termination at Mangaluru has disappointed the people of Udupi and Uttara Kannada districts.

Railway passengers’ welfare committee is holding protests in order to get facilities. Now the time has come for one more protest for Vistadome train extension.

Ganesh Puthran, president of, Kundapur railway passengers’ welfare committee said, “Vistadome train is a good project. It encourages tourism in the state and coastal districts. This was the day train that used to run between Karwar and Bengaluru. It is not right to have restricted it only to Mangaluru. Due to the Konkan railway, which is continuously meting out injustice to the coastal districts of Karnataka, this train is not extended to Udupi and Uttara Kannada districts. This should be extended till Karwar via Kundapur. Otherwise, furious protest will be held.”