Water supply to railways at Mangaluru, MP tells MCC to act

Mangalore Today News Network

Manggaluru, July 17, 2016: Speaking at the review meeting of works related to the railways, MP Nalin Kumar Kateel directed the MCC, Mangalore City Corporation to make arrangements for the supply of water to the Mangaluru Railway Stations and other establishments of the railways including the colony. In the last three months, the railways have received water for only nine days. Palghat Division DRM Naresh Lalwani said, "At present, only 10,000 to 20,000 litre water is supplied to the railways." The demand for water from the railways is 3.5 lakh to 4 lakh litre per day.

Executive Engineer Linge Gowda said that efforts are being made to supply water to the railways.  He said that water could not be supplied in the month of April and May due to the acute water crisis.

It was suggested that water can be drawn from the Padil tank by laying a pipeline which would cost around Rs 1.2 crore. The DRM replied that the state government or the MCC should bear this cost.  Lalwani said the work on the railway approach road will be taken up shortly. He also informed that the MCC which had taken up the work on Under Ground Drainage (UGD) has failed to fill the trenches. The MP directed the MCC to initiate the process to acquire land for widening the road from Naguri to Mangaluru Junction Railway Station.

DRM Lalwani said that the development of the parking area and improvement of the approach road to Mangaluru Central Railway Station will be taken up.  "The Board has approved the development of a second entry to the Mangaluru Central station. The work on the project will begin soon," he stated. It was also informed that the reservation counter will be shifted to the second entry and a cafeteria will also come up.

Pre-paid autos: Hanumantha Kamath of Nagarika Hitharakashana Samithi said the pre- paid auto stand at the Mangaluru Junction Railway Station does not have electricity connections. He said the Palghat Railway division engineer has to issue NOC, Non Objection Certificate for the electricity supply. Kamath suggested that police personnel should be deployed at the pre-paid counter.

He also brought to the notice that the pre-paid counter at Mangaluru Central Railway Station is not issuing proper slips with destination. "They are collecting Rs 2 instead of Re 1 per auto," he informed. The MP promised to hold a meeting with the RTO, police and the railways to sort out these issues.

The students who travel daily by train to Mangaluru said that the delay in the arrival of Chervathur passenger train was affecting their attendance in classes.  They said the train stops at Nethravathi Cabin for 15 minutes, which further delays it.

The students also demanded a separate counter for issuing of season tickets to the students from 3 pm to 6 pm. This suggestion was agreed by the DRM and Senior DCM.

ROB/RUB at Mulki : The MP directed officials to inspect the locations in Mangaluru section where there is a closure of the level crossing gates.   An official from the Konkan Railway Corporation Limited (KRCL) said that a spot has been identified for the construction of Road over bridges (ROB) /Road under bridge (RUB) at Mulki.  The KRCL has written to the DC to conduct a joint inspection with the PWD, Revenue and KRCL to finalise the spot.

It was said that the work can be taken up with 50:50 project cost sharing by the state government and the railways.   MCC Executive Engineer Ganesh said the corporation will develop a six lane road from Surathkal Junction to MRPL gate.

The Mangalore City Corporation will also develop a four lane road Kuloor-Kana. It was informed that the ROB which comes in between these roads needs to be widened by the railways.  However, this proposal was negated by an official from the KRCL who said that the work needs to be done by the authority which is developing the road and not by the railways. The MP said that Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) fund of industries including Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited (MRPL) can be sought for developing the ROB.

Mangalore Railway Commuters Forum represebtative said that the passenger reservation system (PRS) service counter of Southern Railways Palghat division, at the DK DC’s office premises has remained closed for the last two years. He said that the PRS serves as centre for passengers to reserve train tickets in the city, thereby avoiding peak hour rush.

The MP directed the concerned official to take a decision on reopening of the PRS within a week by temporarily deploying staff from the MP office.