Silvester D’Souza

Daijiworld Media Network – Kundapur (MS)

Kundapur, Sep 6: One more daily train is introduced to Bengaluru. This is the result of the efforts of MP Pratap Simha and Kundapur railway committee.

Train number 16585 that was running between Bengaluru-Mysuru-Mangaluru is extended upto Murudeshwar. With this a daily train is now available for coastal Karnataka people to travel to Bengaluru, including the people of Udupi and Kundapur.

Kundapur railway committee and MP Pratap Simha have strived for this extension for the past one and half years. Panchaganga Express which is the lifeline of coastal Karnataka people who want to go to Bengaluru leaves Bengaluru too early and tickets are also not available on that train. Now train number 16585 will start from Baiyappanahalli and reach Majestic at 9 pm and travel further via Mysuru to Mangaluru, Udupi and Kundapur. The return train will leave from Coastal region at around 3.30 pm and reach Bengaluru at 6 am.

This train was running three days a week and only upto Mangaluru. MP Pratap Simha requested to run the train on all the six days of the week and also to extend it upto Karwar. Accordingly, the railway department ordered last year to run the train on all the six days. However, extension of the train to Udupi, Kundapur and Karwar was getting delayed. Kundapur railway committee was constantly appealing to Konkan, South and south western railway to give one more additional train to Bengaluru.

MP Pratap Simha was visiting the union railway ministry quite often for the same purpose. Last January Ganesh Puthran and Gautam Shetty of Kundapur railway committee and Rajeev Gaonkar of Uttara Kannada railway committee met railway board and got agreement for the train to run on all the seven days of the week and sent the same to union railway ministry.

MP Pratap Simha who constantly worked on the proposal, overcame all obstacles and got the nod of railway minister and called meeting of railway officials and ordered them to run the train before Dasara holidays. As a result, the railway department has given the order for the extension of the train.

Even the lost connectivity to Mysuru due to the cancellation of Bengaluru train that used to go via Mysuru three years ago is resolved due to the extension of this train. Kundapur railway committee held a discussion in this connection with Santhosh Kumar Jha, executive director of Konkan Railway.

Kundapur railway committee also informed the railway department through MP Shobha Karandlaje to run the Yashwantpur-Murudeshwara train that runs only on Saturdays on all the seven days of the week.

Due to the extension of this train, the huge pressure that was on the Panchaganga train is going to be reduced. MP Pratap Simha’s work is widely appreciated.

Kundapur railway committee expressed its gratitude to MPs of coastal region, who supported the coastal region and Mysuru train connection, Pratap Shetty Cherkady, member of BJP youth morcha and Nagaraja Achar of district BJP, who met MP Pratap Simha in Udupi along with the Kundapur railway committee and Yogendra Swamy, leader of Mysuru consumers’ forum.

Ganesh Puthran of Kundapur railway committee said, “Due to the relentless work of Kundapur railway committee and MP of Mysuru Simha a new train service is available to the people of coastal region. This has immensely benefitted the passengers going to Bengaluru and Mysuru from the coastal region.”

Gautam Shetty of Kundapur railway committee said, “This service is available to the people of coastal region due to the efforts of MP Pratap Simha and senior officers of Indian railway. This will be convenient to people who will leave Bengaluru late in the night and those who want to reach Bengaluru early in the morning.”