BENGALURU: Union Minister for Consumer Affairs Pralhad Joshi and Union Minister of State for Railways V Somanna, along with key railways and district officials, on Sunday held a review meeting at the South Western Railway Headquarters in Karnataka’s Hubballi to assess the progress of all the major railway projects in the region.
The meeting focused on critical infrastructure developments, including new railway lines, road over, under bridges, and station improvements under the ‘Amrit Bharat Station Scheme.’
The ministers emphasised the need for faster project completion, improved passenger services, and the introduction of new train connections, such as a bi-weekly service between Hubballi and Varanasi and a new MEMU train.Officials were directed to prioritise these projects and address any execution hurdles to ensure timely completion.
According to an official statement, Pralhad Joshi, Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and New and Renewable Energy, and V Somanna, Minister of State for Railways and Jal Shakti, Government of India, conducted the review meeting at South Western Railway Headquarters to assess the status of railway projects in the Hubballi-Dharwad region. Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri, Member of Parliament, Uttara Kannada, and MLAs Mahesh Tenginkai, Arvind Bellad, and M R Patil were also present.
The major projects reviewed included the Dharwad-Belagavi New Line, Hubballi-Ankola New Line, Hubballi-Sirsi-Talguppa New Line, construction of Road Over Bridges (ROBs) and Road Under Bridges (RUBs), and the development of major stations under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme (ABSS), including enhancements to passenger amenities.
Shri Pralhad Joshi requested increasing the frequency of train services between Hubballi and Varanasi from weekly to bi-weekly, introducing new train services connecting Hubballi with Ajmer, Jodhpur, Ahmedabad, and launching a local MEMU (Mainline Electric Multiple Unit) train connecting the Hubballi region with stations such as Annigeri, Kundagol, Saunshi, Gudigeri, and Dharwad. Shri Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri also requested a train service between Dandeli and Dharwad, the release added.The statement further mentioned that all the projects were discussed in detail, including their current status regarding land acquisition, DPR, and tender progress.
The Minister of State for Railways advised all railway officials to complete the projects on a priority basis within the stipulated time and instructed them to clear any bottlenecks during execution.General Manager Arvind Srivastava, AGM K S Jain, DRM Hubballi Harsh Khare, and Principal Heads of Departments of SWR, Deputy Commissioner of Dharwad Smt. Divya Prabhu, KIADB officials, and other senior railway officials were present during the meeting, the release added. (ANI)