ERODE: Tiruppur Lok Sabha MP K Subbarayan has urged the Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw to implement the Sathyamangalam-Erode and Sathyamangalam-Mettur railway projects that were approved in 2008 and 2006 respectively. Both projects have been put on hold.
K Subbarayan, in a letter to Vaishnaw, said, “Tiruppur Lok Sabha constituency includes three assembly constituencies of Anthiyur, Bhavani and Gobichettipalayam, which are the most backward agrarian areas. Rail services are poor in my constituency except in Perundurai and Tiruppur. These agricultural districts have been deprived of railway lines for decades. Two railway projects involving these three districts were proposed 15 years back. Initial assessment and inspection of the land was done but they have been putting the project on hold and it has not seen the light of day.”
“The first is the Sathyamangalam-Gobichettipalayam-Erode broad gauge project. The distance between Sathiyamangalam and Erode is 69.3 km. The railway ministry had approved the project after preliminary survey was submitted on January 24, 2008. But there has been no further progress. The survey report states that there will be eight railway stations on this route. This will cater to millions of common people, workers, students and women who commute to work, schools and colleges,” the MP added. “The other is the Sathyamangalam -Anthiyur-Mettur railway project. This route from Sathiyamangalam to Mettur via Anthiyur covers a distance of 90 km. The report was submitted to the railway department on September 26, 2006, but without further progress. This route will include nine railway stations,” he added.
The MP also said that the implementation of both projects will economically uplift people in these areas. “Farm produce like turmeric, cotton, banana and flowers can be transported to nearby urban centres of Erode, Mysore, and Bengaluru,” the MP added.