Govind D. Belgaumkar

and Anil Kumar Sastry

BANGALORE: Will Karnataka get its due share in the Railway Budget on Monday? This is on the mind of all those who are feeling let down by the Centre.

There is a general feeling that new projects sanctioned for the State are limited in scope and very few of them are actually executed, with some dragging on for decades. On the other hand, neighbouring States not only get new projects but also a big share in the budget to complete those projects.

A glaring example is the saga of gauge conversion between Sakleshpur and Mangalore, sanctioned in 1994-95. Though the conversion work was over a year ago, regular train services are yet to resume connecting the State capital with the major port of the State. The delay in issuing the safety certificate by the Commissioner for Railway Safety has only helped the Railways to delay the resumption of services.

Different regions in the State have been demanding early completion of six lines, gauge conversion of five lines, sanction for at least two new lines, expeditious doubling of the Bangalore-Belgaum section (Bangalore-Tumkur sanctioned already) and doubling-cum-electrification of Bangalore-Mysore (Bangalore-Ramanagaram section sanctioned already) line.

They have been demanding speedy completion of Bangalore-Hassan line (via Shravanabelagola), Bidar-Gulbarga, Raichur-Gadwal, Munirabad-Mehboobnagar, Kottur-Harihar via Harapanahalli and Kadur-Chickmagalur-Saklesh-pur lines.

Repeated pleas by people of Karnataka for speedy completion of gauge conversion have fallen on deaf ears. The lines are Chickballapur-Kolar, Bagalkot-Gadag, Shimoga-Talaguppa, Chickaballapur-Chintamani-Srinivasapura-Madanapalle Road and Mysore-Chamarajanagar.

The new lines being sought are between K.R. Nagar and Kushalnagar via Periyapatna and between Shimoga and Harihar. Kodagu remains the only district not connected by trains though it is a hot tourist destination. The direct line between Shimoga and Harihar is expected to reduce the journey time between the two cities by three hours. At present people have to travel via Birur junction.

The Bangalore-Tumkur line doubling and Bangalore-Mysore line doubling and electrification have suffered from lack of funds and have made tardy progress. The Bangalore-Mysore project is expected to give a boost to the proposed IT corridor.

It may be noted that conversion of the narrow gauge Shimoga-Talaguppa section into broad gauge line and extension of the line up to Honnavar or Bhatkal will provide faster and shorter route to Mumbai for most southern parts of Karnataka. Similarly, passengers will be able to take the shortest route to Tirupati if the new Chickaballapur-Chintamani-Srinivasapura-Madanapalli line is upgraded.

In a letter to Railway Minister Lalu Prasad, the city-based Rajasthan Samaj Railway Sangarsh Samithi (RSRSS) urged him to favourably consider Karnataka's demands. Its president Prakash Mandoth also recommended a comprehensive plan to provide connectivity to Devanahalli airport.

Bidar and Gulbarga are two important commercial and industrial cities of Karnataka yet they do not have direct rail connectivity. Once that is provided, this section is expected to provide shorter route to Delhi.

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