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Railways-MPs meeting only for namesake!
The aspirations of people in both the Telugu-speaking states and the deeds of Ministry of Railways are parallel like railroad tracks that never meet.
Warangal: The aspirations of people in both the Telugu-speaking states and the deeds of Ministry of Railways are parallel like railroad tracks that never meet. Despite the people representatives’ pursual, there was not much to cheer for Telangana when it comes to the Railway budget with several projects either gathering dust or competing with a snail in making progress.
Forget about the long wish list of the MPs, representing from the region, who customarily attend the railway coordination meetings conducted by the SCR ahead of every Railway budget; there are several projects that have been languishing in the cold storage.
Though the wagon manufacturing unit at Kazipet in Warangal district at an estimated cost of Rs 152.26 crore was sanctioned in 2012-13, the project didn’t make headway. The Railways had allotted Rs 1,000 a token amount in the 2015-16 to keep the project alive for future traffic requirement. On the other hand, the 149-kms-long Rs 967 crore Bhadrachalam Road (Kothagudem)-Kovvur railway line was also pending for decades. Though the Railways had sanctioned Rs 100 crore in 2013-14 budget and the SCCL had reportedly deposited Rs 367 crore with the Railways as part of state government’s share for the project, the project remained a non-starter.
The other demands in pending are setting up of a periodical overhauling (POH) unit, the survey works of Hasanparthy Road-Karimnagar which was proposed in 2010-11. There are also proposals to survey for the connectivity of Jammikunta-Bhupalpalli-Eturnagaram-Ramagundam-Bhadrachalam roadManuguru.Pandurangapuram-Sarapaka, and Manuguru-Ramagundam and Nalgonda-Macherla railway line projects have been pending for years.
Sharing the details of Wednesday’s meeting with the SCR General Manager Ravindra Gupta in Secunderabad, the Mahabubabad MP A Sitaram Naik told The Hans India: “There is no logic behind conducting such meetings when the Centre is not willing to give anything to Southern states, especially Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.” However, he expressed hopes of a periodical overhauling (POH) unit at Kazipet and nod for completion of Pandurangapuram-Sarapaka railway line in the 2016-17 budget.
Rajya Sabha member Rapolu Ananda Bhaskar said: “We have asked the GM to send proposals for establishing of Kazipet railway division, besides improving the facilities at Kazipet, Warangal and other railway stations.”
Adepu Mahender
