THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will hold discussions with his Karnataka counterpart Basavaraj Bommai in Bengaluru on Sunday mainly on extending the SilverLine project to Mangaluru. The development of the Nilambur-Nanjangud railway stretch and Thalassery-Mysuru highway across the two states would also be taken up at the meeting slated to begin at 9.30am.
At the recent meeting of South Zone Council, the two states had reached an understanding on the SilverLine project being extended till Mangaluru. It was at this meeting held in Kovalam in Thiruvananthapuram under the aegis of Union Home Minister Amit Shah that the state government had sought Karnataka’s support. Tamil Nadu also sought a high-speed rail corridor.
The Centre has been sitting on the state government’s request for approval for the SilverLine semi high-speed rail project originally planned up to Kasaragod. It is in this context that the Kerala Government has sought the support of Karnataka which is ruled by the BJP.
Though extending the SilverLine was discussed during the South Zone Council meeting, it was decided that the two chief ministers should first hold talks before taking a call on it. The state government has since given the detailed project report to the Karnataka government. The Karnataka government’s decision is going to be crucial for the LDF government’s flagship project. If there is a positive outcome, the Centre’s further action will be keenly watched.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin had also raised his state’s interest in setting up a high-speed rail corridor on the Madurai-Chennai-Thoothukudy route. Pinarayi will also attend a public meeting of CPM at Bagepalli, 100km north of Bengaluru, which will be followed by a mass rally.