Daijiworld Media Network – Udupi (SP)

Udupi, Feb 3: “Local MLA, K Raghupati Bhat, will lead a ‘Rail Roko’ programme at the railway station here, which will be held from 9 am to 12 pm on February 15. This agitation has been planned in protest against non-tabling of the proposal to extend the Bangalore-Mangalore train to Karwar at the pre-budget meeting held recently. On that day, three trains will be stopped,” informed president of Udupi Railway Yatri Sangha, R L Dias. Dias also informed that an emergency meeting of the concerned is being convened at 10 am on February 6 at the office of the Consumers’ Forum here, to hold discussions about future course of action.

Udupi Railway Yatri Sangha’s demand for the extension of the Yeshwantpur-Mangalore train to Karwar, supported by a number of other railway commuters’ organizations, had been submitted to the South Western Railway Office in Hubli in the form of a petition on June 30, 2009. The officials had promised then, to inaugurate the extended train on August 9 or 10 the same year. However, on July 3, 2009, union railway minister, Mamata Banerjee, announced that this train is being extended to Kannur in Kerala.

The Mangalore-Kannur stretch of this train’s route has not been attracting passengers. Realizing this, a plea was made to four MPs from this region to impress upon the Railway Board to run ten compartments of the train to Karwar, and the balance seven, to Kannur. This effort too did not yield any result. It is learnt that in the pre-budget meeting held at Pune recently, the issue of extending this train never came up. In these meetings, known as ‘Inter-zone Railway Time Table Conference’, issues like the starting stations and destinations of new trains, extension, cancellation, reasons for the same etc, are tabled for discussion. Surprisingly, the long-pending issue of the extension of the above train never came up for discussion.

It is being felt that Keraleans continue to wield enormous clout in the railway department, even after the minister of state for railways, E Ahmed, was shifted out of the department recently.