From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network - Bangalore
Bangalore, Feb 25: Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa has warmly welcomed the Union Railway Budget for the year 2011-12 and thanked Union Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee for sanctioning 11 new trains and extending 4 existing rail lines.
The Chief Minister, who addressed the media in the evening, has expressed his gratitude for the decision for starting a railway coach manufacturing unit at Kolar on private-public-participation basis and for establishing railway training centre at Dharward.
Approvals for electrification of the Bangalore-Hubli rail line and including Bangalore in the satellite rail link network along with the decision for conducting surveys for 10 new rail lines and doubling of 6 rail lines have been specially welcomed by the Chief Minister, who promised to meet the Union Minister and personally request her to take up the projects immediately.
Pointing out that he would be meeting all the State’s MPs to press for more rail projects and early execution of all pending projects during his visit to Delhi to meet Ms Mamata Banerjee, he urged the Union Railway Minister to expedite the launch of the Anandpur-Talaguppa and Chintamani-Kolar gauge conversion projects.
As part of Karnataka’s offer to provide 50 % of the estimated cost of the rail projects in the state, the Chief Minister said the State Government would be contributing Rs 487 crore as its share to the Union Railway Ministry over the next three years.
The state government would be contributing as much as Rs 478 crore during the coming year 2011-12 to ensure that the rail network in the state improved. Another sum of Rs 30 crore will be provided for construction of railway overbridges and underbridges in the State during the coming year, he said.
The Chief Minister said the state government was keen on improving the rail network in the state as part of its plans for development of the infrastructure facilities to ensure speedy development of all underdeveloped and backward regions given the fact that the density of railway network in the state was barely 16 kms per every 1000 kms.
"I strongly urge the Centre to execute all the projects taken up or those for which survey work has been sanctioned or going on,” he said.