THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Railway Ministry’s reported proposal to bifurcate the Thiruvananthapuram Railway Division has engendered stiff opposition, with Shashi Tharoor MP, who represents the state capital in the Lok Sabha, calling for the proposal to be scrapped.
Tharoor wrote to Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu urging him to take the stakeholders into confidence before taking a final decision on the issue.
The move will weaken the existing functions of the Railways, its various development goals as well as the gradation of Thiruvananthapuram Division, causing considerable damage and distress to the people, he said.
According to Tharoor, the southern part of the capital district was witnessing several developments including the Vizhinjam port. At such a critical juncture, the move by the Railway Ministry will have a tremendous impact on revenue collection which is likely to increase with goods transportation in the coming years.
Tharoor said with the completion of the Vizhinjam port and the coaching terminal in Nemom, traffic along the existing lines will pick up but the state will gain nothing out of it if the section is handed over to the Railways’ Madurai Division.
“Projects are allotted to Railway Divisions based on revenue collection and if these stations are transferred to Madurai Division, Kerala’s legitimate interests will be dealt a massive, unjustified blow,” he said in the missive. Since Thiruvananthapuram is important from the administrative point of view, it is essential the administration of these stations are retained in the state capital to allow the state government to sustain better coordination with the Railway authorities and their services.
“The suggestion to transfer major railway sections under the Thiruvananthapuram Division to Madurai is an injustice to the state and to the Railway Division of Thiruvananthapuram. Such a move will be viewed not only with widespread dismay but will also provoke strong condemnation from the affected population in Kerala,” Tharoor said.