Udupi: “Railways will be developed with Rs 8,50,000 crores in the country in five years,” said Suresh Prabhu, Union Minister for Railways. He was speaking after laying the foundation stone for the Ramkrishna Hegde Institute of Skill Development, near Udupi Railway Station here, on November 16.
He said that LIC India will be giving a loan of Rs 1,50,000 crores at a lower interest for the development of railways. The doubling of tracks of Konkan Railway is in progress and is full of challenges, even as efforts are being held to complete the doubling process as soon as possible. The electrification process has also been flagged off at Konkan Railway. The doubling and tripling process has also been initiated in the other parts of the country.
The George Fernandes Institute of Tunnel Technology will be built in Madgaon for the contribution of George Fernandes towards the Konkan Railway. A similar institute like Ramakrishna Hegde Institute of Skill Development will be built in Maharashtra in the name of Madu Dandawante.
To felicitate transparency in Indian Railways e-tender process, online examinations have been adapted. Additional powers have been given to General Managers and Station Masters for the developments of railway stations. The ticket booking system has also been simplified with paperless ticketing in selected stations, and this process will be adapted in the entire country in the next five years.
Preference has been given to local juice vendors to sell their products in trains. The people are advised to drink Kokum juice instead of coke, he added.
MP of Udupi-Chickmanglur LS constituency, Shobha Karandlaje said that the skill development centre project has been felicitated by the central government. 1500 traditional products have been identified and the training will be given along with the job. The centre, which is being built at a cost of Rs 10 crores, will have all basic facilities, she added.
Shoba further said, “The proposal to bring Mangalore Port under the purview of Konkan Railway is still pending with the strong lobby of Southern Railway. The Railways department has made a proposal for equally distributing the profits of Mangalore Port between Konkan Railway and Southern Railway.” As she made this statement, the office bearers and members of Railway Yathri Sangha along with the general public objected it. They demanded that the Mangalore Port should be brought under the purview of Konkan Railway and no profits should be shared with Southern Railway.
CMC President Yuvraj presided over the programme. TP President Sunitha Nayak, former MLAs Raghupati Bhat, Lalaji Mendon and Yogish Bhat, CMC member Geetha Ravi Shet and others were present.
Konkan Railway CMD Bhanu Prakash welcomed the gathering. Directors for Operations Sanjay Gupta delivered the vote of thanks. Executive Secretary Asha Shetty compeered the programme.