Glimmer of hope for railway division proposal in Kalaburagi
Union govt. has reportedly given sanction for a railway zone and a division in Vijayawada
The reported decision of the Union government to sanction a railway zone and a railway division for Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh has provided a glimmer of hope for the proposal for a railway divisional headquarters at Kalaburagi, which was included in the supplementary Railway Budget presented by the then Railway Minister M. Mallikarjun Kharge in February 2014.
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the then United Progressive Alliance government conceded the long-pending demand of the Hyderabad Karnataka region for the railway divisional headquarters in Kalaburagi, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government has done little in making it a reality.
The UPA government had also sanctioned railway divisions at Udhampur in Jammu and Kashmir and Siliguri in Assam. None of these proposals, however, have found favour with the NDA government.
The efforts of Mr. Kharge, Leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha, to persuade Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu to implement these proposals, have failed to bear fruit.
When people of the Hyderabad Karnataka region had given up hopes of getting a railway divisional headquarters, the reported decision of the Centre to sanction a railway zone and division at Vijayawada has revived the hope for the proposal for Kalaburagi, Udhampur and Siliguri.
According to sources, the Railway Board has demarcated the boundaries for the proposed railway divisional headquarters in Kalaburagi and it is likely to plead its case with the Railway Minister and the Finance Minister.
Kalaburagi district is covered by Central Railway, South Central Railway and South Western Railway. However, it has not got its due as far as infrastructure development is concerned though the Railways earns a good revenue through the transportation of cement from cement factories in the region.
Mr. Kharge told The Hindu that he was confident of getting the railway divisional headquarters in Kalaburagi at the earliest. He pointed out that the land required for creating the infrastructure had been transferred to the Railways.
Meanwhile, the State government has sanctioned Rs. 100 crore for land acquisition and taking up a joint survey for the proposed Wadi-Gadag new rail line from Wadi side. The survey is likely to be completed within a fortnight and the Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board would take up the land acquisition on consent basis from farmers. A 47-km stretch of the line has been notified by the government and the work will begin soon from Gadag side.
www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/glimmer-o f-hope-for-railway-division-proposal-in-kalaburagi /article9205625.ece