Mangaluru: Dakshina Kannada MP Captain Brijesh Chowta urged chief minister DK Shivakumar to extend the Karnataka govt’s support for the implementation of the Railway Board’s decision to bring Mangaluru’s railway jurisdiction under the Mysuru division of South Western Railway from Oct 1.In a letter to the CM dated August 24, Chowta said the Railway Board, through its notification dated Aug 21, notified the revision of railway jurisdiction around Mangaluru. Under the new arrangement, the Mangaluru railway area will come under the Mysuru division, while the interchange between Mysuru and Palakkad divisions will shift from Padil to Ullal. Thokur will become the interchange between Konkan Railway and the Mysuru Division.Chowta said the decision addressed a long-standing demand of people in coastal Karnataka, who had sought a more coherent railway administration for Mangaluru.“Bringing Mangaluru under the same divisional framework as the Hassan-Mangaluru section would help integrate the coastal terminal, ghat section and inland corridor towards Hassan and Mysuru.” This, he said, could facilitate better coordination in capacity augmentation, infrastructure works, passenger services and freight movement,” the MP said.Highlighting Mangaluru’s importance as Karnataka’s principal maritime gateway, Chowta said the revised arrangement would also provide an opportunity to develop the Mangaluru-Hassan-Mysuru axis as an integrated passenger and freight corridor connecting the coast and New Mangalore Port with the state’s interior.Chowta said he had consistently pursued the issue since being elected to Parliament. He recalled taking up railway issues concerning Mangaluru and the Hassan-Mangaluru corridor with the railway minister in Nov 2024, and subsequently pursuing the reorganisation of Mangaluru’s railway administration with the Union govt.The MP also referred to the Kerala govt’s reported request for reconsideration of the notification and said several Kerala MPs had publicly opposed its implementation.“Several political leaders and members of Parliament from Kerala have taken a clear public position seeking reversal of the decision,” Chowta said, adding that Karnataka’s position should also be formally placed before the Union govt.He urged Shivakumar to convey Karnataka’s support for implementing the Railway Board notification to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, and sought the state govt’s support in ensuring that the notified arrangement takes effect as scheduled.
