The Railway budget has come as a boon for people in the Mumbai-Karnataka and Hyderabad-Karnataka regions.
The sanctioning of the Gadag-Wadi line fulfils a 103-year-old demand for people in the two regions, as it will provide crucial connectivity between them.
Completion of this line will provide direct connectivity between the major cities of Hubli and Gulbarga, reducing the travel distance between them by 150 km. The new line is also expected to trigger faster development of backward taluks of Yelburga, Kushtagi, Lingasugur, Surapur and Shahpur.
The Gadag-Wadi project proposal dates back to the rule of the Nizams in the Hyderabad-Karnataka region and it was drawn up in 1910, as per documents available with Deccan Herald.
The estimated cost then was Rs 1.87 crore. Its implementation was put off, following differences between the British and the Nizams. The proposal got a new lease of life, post-Independence.
A fresh proposal submitted in 1997, following a survey, showed the estimated cost to be Rs 900 crore for the 253-km line.
None of the Railway budgets presented later made a mention of it. With the latest budget proposing to implement it at Rs 1,200 crore, people in the two regions see a glimmer of hope.