Govind D Belgaumkar/The Hindu

• The study was conducted by Puttur-based Vivekananda College of Engineering and Technology 

Mangalore, Jun 4: To provide better inter-State rail connectivity, the Railways has proposed a new line connecting Kaniyoor (located between Puttur and Subrahmanya Road) in Dakshina Kannada and Kanhangad on the Northern Kerala coast, located between Kasaragod and Kannur.

This is part of the bigger project to connect Kanhangad to K.R. Nagar via Sullia, Madikeri and Kushalnagar. From K.R. Nagar there is an existing line up to Mysore. If implemented, this will emerge as an alternative line for people in Kerala to reach important cities in Karnataka such as Mysore and Bangalore avoiding Mangalore.

The people in Puttur have been demanding a shift in the alignment of the proposed line so that Kanhangad is connected to Puttur instead of Kaniyoor.

They have been arguing that Puttur is a commercially important town in the region. Kaniyoor, 25 km away from Puttur, is a small village with little or no commercial activity.

The new line, as per the original plan, creates a triangular movement between Kaniyoor, Mangalore and Kanhangad with Sullia and Puttur being part of it.

Puttur-based Nagarika Vedike president Usman Haji and its activist Mahesh Kaje have demanded a change in the alignment. They have said that connecting the new line to Puttur would benefit the entire region.

A study conducted by the Puttur-based Vivekananda College of Engineering and Technology too has suggested this.

The study considered four alignments between Kanhangad and Puttur, including the one proposed by the Railways, with their lengths ranging from 71 km to 103 km.

It has recommended aligning the new line from Kanhangad to Puttur via Chullikara, Mullerina and Adianadka, instead of the line going straight to Kaniyoor via Sullia.

It would benefit the people of other remote villages such as Kuttikol, Bannarkaya, Balakkaadkathodi, Natekal, Yethadka, Perla, Vittal and Kabaka. Though this was the longest route, it would cover areas where road transportation is poor, it said.

The Sullia route, on the other hand, would pass though the Parappa reserved Forest which was a biodiversity hotspot, the report said.

A team of lecturers and students, led by the college principal B.N. Shanthapriya, conducted the study. Its members were the head of the Department of Civil Engineering Ganesh Mogaveer, lecturers Ajith Hebbar and Umesh Chandra and students Suryanarayana and Deepak M.