The final location survey for the 236 km Nilambur-Nanjangud railway line which was opposed by Karnataka was gaining traction but the State officials are not in the know over the developments.
The State had unequivocally rejected the proposal in the past on environmental grounds as the alignment was speculated to pass through Bandipur Tiger Reserve and the buffer zone. There was stiff opposition to it from wildlife activists as well. The votaries of the project had argued that the alignment would skirt the tiger reserve and the new line would reduce the journey time from Mysuru to Ernakulam and other parts of Kerala.
The Ministry of Railways and the Railway Board issued a circular on May 9th, 2023 sanctioning ₹5.90 crore for the final location survey for the new line between Nilambud in Kerala and Nanjangud in Karnataka.
However, the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests Subhash Malkhede said that his office has not received any communique about the final location survey. “If the alignment cuts through the forests then our permission was a must but nothing has come before us so far,” he said and speculated that the survey may be confined to the Kerala-side of the proposed alignment.
Senior officials of the railways here were also oblivious of the final location survey and said if it was an aerial survey entailing the use of drones – as in the case of Mysuru-Kushalnagar line – then it would be conducted by a private agency to ascertain the beginning and the end point of the railway line.
Meanwhile #savebandipur was trending on social media with activists underlining that both Bandipur and Nagarahole harboured some of the highest densities of tigers and elephants in the country.
