Railway budget brings no cheer to Mysore region

‘Disappointing’ budget, criticise industrialists

Belying the expectations of the people of Karnataka, Mysore and surrounding districts, in particular, the Railway budget tabled by the Union Minister M Mallikarjun Kharge, has turned out to be a damp squib.

Barring the introduction of a new train between Mysore and Varnasi; announcement of doubling of track between Maddur and Mandya covering 19 km and Birur- Ajjampur (18 km); new lines between Kadur and Chikkamagalur up to 46 km; and gauge conversion up to 85 km from Kadur to Chikkaballapur, the budget had nothing much to offer to meet the expectations of the people of old Mysore region.

Besides, it has been proposed to take up the survey for the coming fiscal for the new lines between Tiptur and Dudda, Challekere-Channarayapatna via Hiriyur, Huliyur, Chikkanayakanahalli K B cross and Turuvekere, Belgaum and Hubli via Kittur and doubling of the track between Salem- Omalur.

For South Western Railways (SWR), Mysore, there will be a new train for the year from Mysore to Varnasi a bi-weekly via Wadi and Daund. The other new trains are- Yashwanthpur- Jaipur AC (Weekly express) via Gulbarga, Pune and Vasai road, Yashwanthpur-Katra weekly express via Gulbarga, Kacheguda, Nagpur and New Delhi, Bangalore City-Chennai daily expresss via Bangarpet and Jolarpettai, Thiruvanthapuram- Bangalore (Yashwanthpur) bi-weekly express via Erode and Tirupur, Howrah- Yashwanthpur AC weekly express via Bhubaneswar, Gudur and Katpadi, Hubli- Mumbai Weekly express via Bijapur, Solapur. Among the passenger trains, there will be Hubli-Belgaum daily fast passenger, followed by the increase in frequency of trains.

Disappointing

General secretary of Mysore Industries Association (MIA) termed the budget as dissapointing as there is no inclusion of the much awaited upgradation of city railway station having hertiage value and also the workshop.

Chairman of Mysore Chamber of Commerce and Industries (MCCI) S Sudhakar Shetty said though there a survey was conducted for Mysore-Madikeri line 14 years ago, it is found missing in the current budget too. While the demand for the rail connectivity between Mysore and Mumbai still remains on papers. 

Manjunath, a bank employee said that being a commuter he expected more trains towards Bangalore side from Mysore especially in the morning hours, when compared to the more number of trains that originate from Bangalore side towards the city.