GULBARGA: The wheels of Indian bureaucracy move slowly, but surely. The decades-old demand of a rail link between Gulbarga and Bidar got another push when Gulbarga Assistant Commissioner Sangappa announced on Friday that 114 acres of land had been transferred to the Tajsultanpur Railway Department.
The foundation stone for the Bidar-Gulbarga rail link was laid in 2000 by the then railway minister Bangaru Laxman.
Work on the rail line -- which has been taken up since 2003-04 under a 50:50 cost sharing basis between the Government of Karnataka and the Ministry of Railways -- has been progressing at a snail’s pace due to paucity of funds.
The Ministry of Railways estimated the project cost of the 107- km track to be Rs 386.6 crore. Acquisition of land has been hampered as adequate funds are not being released on time.
In Bidar, land has been acquired -- and handed over to the Railways -- only up to Humnabad.
That is just the half-way mark.
With Gulbarga handing over 114 acres in Nilkood village to the Railways, only a small stretch remains to be acquired before laying of tracks can be taken up in right earnest.
When complete, the Bidar-Gulbarga rail link will cut travel time between Bangalore and New Delhi by over six hours.
The project would also accelerate the industrial and economic development of North-East Karnataka.
One-third of the most backward Taluks in Karnataka are situated in Bidar and Gulbarga districts.