THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Condemning the Railway Board's decision to transfer the Mangaluru area from the Southern Railway to the South Western Railway, Keralam Chief Minister VD Satheesan on Saturday said he will write to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw to reconsider the decision.
"The Railway Board's decision to remove regions including Mangaluru out of the Palakkad railway division is unilateral. Keralam will approach the Union Government to solve the issue, as the demand to retrospect the same is a united stand of our state... We write to the Prime Minister and Union Railway Minister, and pressurise the Centre to reinspect the decision with the cooperation of the MPs from the state," he commented in a statement.
Stating that no prior discussions were held with the state, nor has it been informed of the decision to divide the Palakkad division, Satheesan also highlighted that there will be a significant revenue shortfall when the areas from Ullal to Mangaluru get merged into the South Western Railways, which includes key stations like Mangaluru Junction.
This shortage, Satheesan stated, will be a huge loss for Keralam and Southern Railways, and will also affect the developmental activities of the Palakkad division.