Pralhad Joshi, MP, has urged Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly Jagadish Shettar to take up the issue of land acquisition for the Davangere-Chitradurga-Tumakuru rail line.
Speaking at a programme organised to mark the inauguration of two escalators at Hubballi Railway Station here on Monday, he said that the survey for the line had been completed and the Union government had given sanction for the Rs. 1,800-crore project. “However, the State government has to come forward to start the land acquisition. I appeal to Mr. Shettar to lead a delegation of elected representatives to the Chief Minister urging him to provide land for the project,” he said.
Mr. Joshi said that the new line would also be beneficial to the people of North Karnataka as it would reduce the journey time from Hubballi to Bengaluru by nearly one-and-a-half hours.
“South Western Railway authorities are also trying to increase the train speed from 80 km per hour to 100 km per hour and if the new line gets completed at the earliest, the journey will be reduced to just four to five hours by train,” he said.
Mr. Joshi sought the help of Mr. Shettar in getting a revised and detailed proposal submitted to the Union government for the long-pending Hubballi-Ankola rail line.
Union Minister of Road Transport, Highways, and Shipping Nitin Gadkari had announced a proposal to develop the Belekeri port at a cost of Rs. 6,000 crore. “The doors of fortune will be opened for North Karnataka if the Hubballi-Ankola new line materialises after clearing the hurdles,” he said.
Mr. Joshi hoped that the line doubling between Hubballi and Bengaluru would get completed by 2019 as promised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during an interaction with MPs.
As Hubbali Railway Station had now become an A1 station by crossing a revenue of Rs. 50 crore, more facilities would come up there, he added.
