NE NEWS SERVICE
CHENNAI, JULY 17
Union Minister of State (MoS) for Railways and Jal Shakti, V Somanna on Wednesday said in Mangaluru that all possible measures will be initiated by the Ministry of Railway to speed up the development works in Mangaluru-Karwar divisions of Indian Railways, says an SR release.
Shri V. Somanna, Hon’ble Union Minister of State for Railways and Jal Shakti, convened a meeting today at Mangalore with Hon’ble MPs, MLAs & MLCs, and key officials from Mangaluru area. The meeting focused on railway-related matters and was attended by Senior Rly Officials pic.twitter.com/DGDkGcyL3c
— Southern Railway (@GMSRailway) July 17, 2024
Measures will be taken to demolish the old building in Mangaluru Central Railway station and to construct a new building. The tender will be floated in a month towards the same, he said.
- Development works in Mangaluru-Karwar are not being carried out at the expected pace: Union Minister of State (MoS) for Railways and Jal Shakti
- One needs to understand that politicians and officials are two sides of the coin: V Somanna
Steps towards modernization are being implemented from the past several years and the central government has released funds towards various development works. Direction has been given to float a tender towards the works in Mangaluru division in 15 to 20 days, the minister said.
He stated that development works in Mangaluru-Karwar are not being carried out at the expected pace. In order to expedite the works, a blueprint will be drawn in a month with the support of local MLAs, MPs and intellectuals.
The meeting convened by V.Somanna was attended by R.N. Singh, General Manager, Southern Railway; Aravind Srivastava, General Manager, South Western Railway; Santosh Kumar Jha, Chairman and Managing Director, Konkan Railway; Arun Kumar Chaturvedi, Divisional Railway Manager, Palakkad Division; Kota Sreenivas Poojary, Member of Parliament, Udipi Chikmagalur; Captain Brijesh Chowta, Member of Parliament, Dakshin Kannada; Sudheer Shetty Kannur, Mangaluru City Mayor, Vedavyasa Kamath, Mangaluru MLA; A.Kiran Kumar Kodgi, Kundapura MLA; Yashpal Suvarna, Udupi MLA;Satish Sail, Karwar MLA; Dr Bharath Shetty, Mangalore City North MLA; Mankal Vaidya, Bhatkal MLA, and Manjunath Bhandary, MLC.
The Union Minister of State for Railways also said that it has been one month and seven days since he has assumed the office and he has visited Secunderabad, Bengaluru and Mangaluru railway divisions. “Merger of railway divisions is secondary. Upgrading the existing facilities will be the priority,” Somanna said and stressed that he will speak to the Union Minister of Railways Ashwini Vaishnav in this regard.
Stressing on the need to strike a coordination between various divisions of Railways, the minister said that he emphasises on maintaining a cordial relation with officials. “One needs to understand that politicians and officials are two sides of the coin,” the minister said.
During the meeting, several key issues and development projects concerning the railway infrastructure and services in the Mangaluru region were discussed. The discussions aimed to address the needs and concerns of the local population and to enhance the efficiency and connectivity of the railway network in the area.
Somanna emphasised the importance of collaborative efforts between the state and central authorities to ensure the successful implementation of railway projects. He also highlighted the government’s commitment to improving transportation facilities and ensuring the welfare of the people.
The General Managers of Southern and South Western Railway and the Chairman and Managing Director of Konkan Railway provided detailed presentations on ongoing and upcoming projects and sought feedback and suggestions from the elected representatives. The meeting concluded with a renewed commitment towards the development and modernization of the railway infrastructure in Mangaluru, thereby contributing to the overall growth and progress of the region as well.
