Railway bugdet is fruitful: Ravi

Congress says it has neglected State, Chikkamagaluru district

Legislator C T Ravi said Union Minister for Railways Suresh Prabhu has given a promising budget to the district and the work on Kadur-Chikkamagaluru-Sakleshpur line, which was moving at a snail’s pace, will get a boost with the budgetary allocation of Rs 204 crore.

He said, “The land acquisition process from Chikkamagaluru -Sakleshpur is not started yet. The State government should take up the project at the earliest.”

Ravi said MP Shobha Karandlaje had proposed to construct a railway line on Chikkamagaluru-Belur-Hassan route, instead of Chikkamagaluru -Sakleshpur stretch. The minister has promised the MP of holding a high-level committee meeting to discuss the proposal, he said. 

He said the budget has given priority to service, safety and cleanliness in the railways.

‘No farsightedness’

District Congress Publicity Committee President A N Mahesh said the budget lacks farsightedness. It should have focussed on completion of the pending railway line works. The budget has neglected the State and the district, he criticised.

Mahesh said the budget no new projects have been announced in the budget. In spite of decline in the price of petroleum products, there is no mention of train fare reduction in the budget. “The Railways depends on Chikkamagaluru district for revenue only. There is no mention of the implementation of the already announced Chikkamagaluru -Bengaluru intercity train. The proposal on Chikkamagaluru-Sringeru railway line, announced by previous minister D V Sadananada Gowda, has remained only on paper.
The hamalis and lorry owners are facing inconvenience without a goodshed in Chikkamagaluru Railway Station.”