Pics: Durga Digitals
Daijiworld Media Network—Udupi (RD/CN)

Udupi, Nov 18: The representatives of various gram panchayats in the district met at Belapu railway station, on the Konkan Railway (KR) route, near Padubidri, on Sunday November 16, to urge the Railways to upgrade Belapu railway station, so as to include a halt for the Mumbai—Mangalore Matsyagandha fast passenger train at the station.
 
Local residents also participated in the meeting. Currently only a passenger train and an express train plying to and from Kerala, halt at the station which was set up a decade ago.  

Deviprasad Shetty, president, district gram panchayat federation, presided over the meeting. It was decided to stage a ‘rail roko’ at Belapu railway station, if the demands are not met by KR within a month.

Zilla panchayat member Shashikant Padubidri, taluk panchayat member Katpady Shankar Poojry, Ramesh Anchan, Yellur gram panchayat president Vasanti Madhwaraj, Kuthyar gram panchayat president Nityanand Shetty, Mudarangady gram panchayat president Ravindra Prabhu, Ucchila gram panchayat president Yashoda Kumar, Mallar gram panchayat president Jalaja teacher, Tenka Yermal gram panchayat president Prasad Shetty, Belapu gram panchayat members Niranjan Shetty, Paigam Banu, Yogish Poojary, Shobha Bhat, Deepasri Shetty, Yellur gram panchayat members Nagesh Rao, Rahim Kunjoor, Fisheries Federation president Gangadar Suvarna, and former taluk panchayat member A K Suleiman, were present on the occasion.