Mangaluru: Prime Minister Narendra Modi Friday inaugurated the redeveloped Bantwal railway station under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme at a cost of Rs 26.1 crore through video conferencing from Jalandhar Cantonment railway station in Punjab.Bantwal was among 75 such stations inaugurated across the country.At Bantwal, the inauguration was screened live on an LED display on 1st platform. Dakshina Kannada MP Captain Brijesh Chowta, MLC Kishore Kumar Puttur and other dignitaries watched the event.Addressing the gathering, Chowta stressed the need to merge the Konkan Railway division with Indian Railways from a developmental perspective and urged cooperation from all elected representatives of the region to convince the authorities. He also urged officials to include Puttur railway station under the Amrit Bharat scheme.Commending South Western Railway officials, Chowta highlighted the swift completion of electrification work required to facilitate Vande Bharat train services to Mangaluru. Emphasising affordability, he said passengers can travel from Mangaluru to Subrahmanya Road station for just Rs 25 and urged the public to make use of the service.The event featured cultural performances by students from local schools. Students who won prizes in essay competitions on railways were felicitated.MLC Kishore Kumar Puttur, former MLA A Rukmayya Poojary, Divisional Railway Manager Mudit Mittal, BJP district president Satish Kumpala and others were present.Meanwhile, Udupi–Chikkamagaluru MP Kota Srinivas Poojary Friday inaugurated newly developed passenger lifts on the first and second platforms of Udupi railway station.Poojary addressed the gathering on the new lift facilities, extended Executive Lounge and newly developed toilet blocks at the station.Udupi MLA Yashpal Anand Suvarna, Udupi Urban Development Authority president Dinaker Heroor, Regional Railway Manager, Karwar, KRCL, Asha Shetty and others were present.
