HYDERABAD: Union Railways Minister Piyush Goyal told Congress MP N Uttam Kumar Reddy that there was no ‘high speed’ train plying between Hyderabad and Vijayawada. When Reddy asked whether the Railways was considering any proposal to build a direct railway line between the two cities along National Highway 65, the Union Minister said ‘no’. Goyal was replying to a question raised by Reddy in Lok Sabha on Wednesday.
Goyal said that currently, there were two routes from Hyderabad to Vijayawada and work on a third line was in progress. Therefore, there would not be any requirement for a new line, he said. Prior to the cancellation of regular train services, Vijayawada and Secunderabad were well connected by train services like Duronto Express and Garib Rath Express. Currently, only special trains were being operated. There was no immediate proposal for introduction of regular train service between Hyderabad and Vijayawada, owing to operational and resource constraints, he said.
No plans for MMTS to Vikarabad
To another question raised by TRS MP Gaddam Ranjith Reddy, Piyush Goyal said there was no proposal from the State government to extend Multi-Modal Transport System (MMTS) up to Vikarabad. Goyal said MMTS was a suburban rail system in Hyderabad being developed on the demand of the State government. Hence, the proposal to extend it needs to be initiated by the State government, he said.
He clarified that there was no proposal for MMTS to be run by private players. He also clarified that the there was no proposal for trains under South Central Railway (SCR) to be handed over to private players for operations. However, to attract investments of about `30,000 crore, Ministry of Railways had planned induction of about 150 pairs of passenger train services on design, build, finance and operate (DBFO) basis, Piyush Goyal told Ranjith Reddy.
No postal ballots for NRIs: Law Min
Union Minister for Law and Justice Ravi Shankar Prasad informed Congress MP Komatireddy Venkat Reddy that there was no proposal to introduce postal ballot for NRIs in the upcoming Assembly elections. Since the matter was still under discussion with the MEA, it would not be possible to extend the said facility overseas, he said
Movie halls won’t be shut: Talasani
Movie theatres in the State would continue to operate as usual and will not be closed. While rumours were rife that cinema halls would be closed, as the educational institutions were shut due to spike in Covid-19 cases, Cinematography Minister Talasani Srinivas Yadav on Wednesday scotched such rumours
Farm equipment at subsidised rates
Agriculture Minister S Niranjan Reddy said to promote agricultural mechanisation, a new scheme was being formulated by the State government for providing farm equipment at subsidised prices. He also said the State government was making efforts to promote and develop oil palm cultivation in the state on a large scale and also encourage farmers to go for oil palm farming