People of the Hyderabad-Karnataka region hope that the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance government will support projects sanctioned by the United Progressive Alliance government and release more funds for ongoing projects in the Railway Budget.
The new projects include the Kalaburagi Railway Division, rail coach factory at Yadgir, and the Wadi-Gadag rail line providing direct connectivity between the Hyderabad-Karnataka region and the Bombay-Karnataka region.
Another major project which is lingering since 2003 due to the scanty allocation of funds is the Kalaburagi-Bidar rail line.
The foundation stone for the line was laid in 1999 by Bangaru Lakshman. Work began in 2000 and it was expected to be completed in 2005. Ten years later, around 40 per cent of the work on the 104-km line is yet to be completed. The project cost, estimated at Rs 4 crore per km initially, has doubled.
Officials maintain that hard rock and undulating landscape delayed construction of a bridge across the Bennethora stream and a 1.5-km long tunnel that passes below the mountain at Margutti.
A railway official said there was need for funds to lay the remaining stretch of rail line between Kalaburagi and Hallikhed- K.
The line will not only serve the two cities in north East Karnataka, but also act as a connecting point for the northern and southern stretches of railway lines. It will also be the second line to link Eastern and Western Railway, apart from the Mumbai-Secunderabad line. If properly utilised, the line will reduce the travel time between south India and Delhi by around 400 km and cut the travel time by around eight hours, says Khaji Arshed Ali, former MLC.
When M. Mallikarjun Kharge was the Railway Minister, he persuaded the Railway Board to accede to the demand for a new railway division and attach it to South Western Railway. The work on constructing facilities for the division has been handed over to Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd. All that is required now is the nod from the Railway Ministry and board and funds.
Another important project is the construction of a pit-line in Khanapur near Bidar that will turn it into a junction. It will have a servicing centre for railway bogies, enabling the railways to start trains from here. Apart from strengthening railway infrastructure, it will lead to the expansion and development of the city.
Work on the pit line is on, and officials say it will be complete before May.
“We also demand that new lines be laid between Bidar and Vikharabad, Latur-Bidar and Nizamabad,” says B.G. Shetkar, president of the Bidar Chamber of Commerce and Industries.
Increasing the frequency of trains between Bidar and Hyderabad, and Bengaluru and Mumbai, were other demands, he said.
Bhagwant Khuba, MP, says he has requested Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu to start a new train between Tirupati and Shirdi.
