Karnataka - Gulbarga   

People’s hopes of realising a nine-decade dream revived

GULBARGA: The announcement of the Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee in the Railway Budget presented in Parliament on Friday that the Railway Ministry would process the long-pending demand for rail connectivity between Hyderabad Karnataka and Bombay Karnataka region has revived the hopes of the people of the two regions that their nine-decade dream would finally materialise.

Before concluding the presentation of the budget in Parliament, Ms. Banerjee announced that many of the proposals could not be included in the budget presented by her as these proposals were yet to be discussed with the Planning Commission for approval.

However, Ms. Banerjee, in a positive sign, said that the Railway Ministry would continue the pace of creation of infrastructure.

The new rail connectivity proposals for the State include Yadgir-Shahapur-Surpur-Muddebehal-Alamatti, Alamatti-Koppal, Wadi-Gadag, Gadag-Haveri, Chikballapur-Sri Satya Sai Prashanthi Nilayam, Bidar-Nanded, Anekal Road-Bidadi, Shimoga-Harihar lines.

The Railway Minister also proposed to take up for consideration the proposals of 12 projects for doubling of railway lines and three projects for gauge conversion.

The announcement that the Railway Ministry would consider the proposals of Wadi-Gadag new railway line and the Yadgir-Shahapur-Surpur-Muddebehal-Alamatti line, which would provide direct rail connectivity between Hyderabad Karnataka and Bombay Karnataka regions, was significant.

Incidentally, the inclusion of the long-pending demand for direct rail connectivity between the two important regions of the State comes in the wake of a memorandum submitted by a delegation led by Union Labour and Employment Minister M. Mallikarjun Kharge and Bidar MP N. Dharam Singh prior to the presentation of the budget.

The direct rail connectivity between the two important regions would provide the required boost to the economic growth of the region and also ensure its overall development.

Incidentally, this proposal was one of the long-pending ones in the history of the Railways.

Originally, the survey work for the project was taken up in 1910 by the British to provide rail connectivity between Bombay and Marmugoa Bay.

The preliminary survey for the Wadi-Gadag new rail alignment was carried out by C.T. Walker and a final location survey was conducted in 1910. A project estimate was submitted to the government in 1911 at a cost of Rs 1.87 crore.

However, the project could not take off due to certain conditions imposed by the Indian Government and the Railway Board which was not acceptable to the then Hyderabad government under the Nizam.

The Indian Railways also put the project proposals in cold storage after it decided to take up the construction of a metergauge line from Secunderabad to Kurnool.

This project was given a new lease of life in 1997 when a fresh survey was ordered for a new railway line between Gadag and Wadi running to a length of 252.5 km connecting important towns in Gulbarga, Raichur and Koppal. However, even this survey report was left to gather dust by the Railway Board, and now it has been given another lease of life by Ms. Banerjee.

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