Minister of State for Railways, K.H. Muniyappa, on Friday said the completion of track doubling between Bangalore and Mysore would depend on the speed with which the State government hands over lands in two districts – Ramanagarm and Mandya.
He was speaking after inaugurating the renovated model station building of Kengeri Railway Station here. Mr. Muniyappa said 120 hectares of land was required in these two districts for line doubling and there was enormous delay in acquisition.
“I have already instructed officials to take up construction of bridges so that the work moves fast in the stretch,” Mr. Muniyappa noted. He was responding to a plea by the Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister, Shobha Karandlaje, to speed up the doubling work to accelerate developmental activities in and around Mysore.
Rail under bridges
Regarding the demand for rail under bridges (RUBs) around Kengeri, Mr. Muniyappa said work on RUBs connecting Kengeri Satellite Town and Kengeri Town and the one in Dubashipalya will be taken up in January at a cost of Rs. 11 crore and Rs. 8 crore respectively. While the first will be funded by the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike as directed by Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa, the latter will be funded by the Railways, the Minister said.
Responding to demands to halt all express trains passing through Kengeri at Kengeri Station, Mr. Muniyappa said steps have already been taken to stop Yeshwanthpur – Mysore and Tipu Express trains. He will write to the Railway Board to accord halt for the Yeshwanthpur – Mysore train too, the Minister said. Mr. Muniyappa is scheduled to hold a meeting with BBMP authorities in the afternoon to discuss infrastructure requirements of Bangalore city.
Mr. Muniyappa said all the projects worth Rs. 1,026 crore sanctioned in the 2009-10 Railway budget for Karnataka will be completed by 2010 -11. He held out an assurance to bring in more projects for the benefit of the State.
Speaking earlier, Bangalore North Lok Sabha Member D.B. Chandre Gowda and Ms. Karandlaje, who represents Yeshwanthpur Assembly constituency, put forth several demands of local residents, including RUBs and stoppage of trains.
Speaking to reporters after the inaugural function, the Minister said there were plans to extend the Mumbai – Karwar train to Mangalore. Also, the Yeshwanthpur – Salem – Kannur Express will be extended up to Mangalore, he said while justifying the extension of Yeshwanthpur – Mangalore Express to Kannur and described it as a national integration move.
Chief Administrative Officer (Construction), South Western Railway, S. Vijayakumaran, Divisional Railway Manager Akhil Agarwal, additional DRM Ravi Valluri and other officials were present.
