Coast disappointed with Prabhu’s maiden budget

MANGALURU: The devil was in the details as far as Coast was concerned with railway minister Suresh Prabhu's maiden budget on Thursday. Overall, the budget has left a bitter taste in the mouth for the coast though the minister received kudos for passenger friendly measures.
The Coastal Connectivity Programme to be launched this year has evinced interest but public has doubts whether the programme will be extended to west coast till Mangaluru, says Hanumanth Kamath, president, Paschima Karavali Railway Yatri Abhivridhi Samithi.
Kamath and Rail activist Anil Hegde say they are disappointed that there is no mention of Mangalore Division which would have spearheaded all future development activity in the region.
The construction of additional two platforms at Mangalore Central is also most important, says Hegde, but sadly there is no mention. He hopes fine print would throw light on this.
This proposal was submitted to Railway Board by Southern Railways four years back for Rs 17 crore budgetary allocations. But Railway board has not approved this proposal so far. It is essential as present capacity is saturated and causing delays in train operations.
Hegde said while no increase in railway passenger fares was welcome, he hoped that mobile application to address complaints of people; 'Operation 5 minutes' to ensure that a passenger travelling unreserved can purchase a ticket within 5 minutes; SMS alert services for passengers; replacement of ladders; Wi-Fi at select stations; would all be implemented within a select time frame.
Kamath and Hegde were disappointed that the train Bengaluru-Mangaluru train announced by DV Sadananda Gowda in the last railway budget did not materialise. ``We were expecting the announcement regarding the commencement of this train which would give public additional option to travel to state’s capital,’’ said Hegde.
Gowda has announced introduction of the Mangaluru-Bengaluru night train, via Arasikere. If Prabhu had announced the start of this train it would have eased pressure on the roads in view of closure of Shiradi Ghat till May for rigid pavement works.