Mangaluru under Mysuru railway division: Kozhikode MP seeks reversal of new order

M.K. Raghavan, MP, has urged Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and the Chairman of the Railway Board to immediately withdraw the decision to detach the Mangaluru railway area from the Palakkad division and bring it under the Mysuru division of South Western Railway.

Mr. Raghavan termed the Railway Board’s August 21 order “unjust” and said it would seriously undermine railway development in the Malabar region.

He said the move would deprive the Palakkad division of revenue from freight operations at the Mangaluru port as well as earnings from major stations such as Mangaluru Central and Mangaluru Junction.

“The resulting decline in the division’s financial strength could affect the launch of new train services and other development projects in the Malabar region,” he said.

Pointing out that several train services to Malabar were currently operated through Mangaluru, Mr. Raghavan said the separation could also create difficulties in introducing new services and extending existing ones.

He said the decision would adversely affect the very existence of the Palakkad division and derail its development prospects for passengers in northern Kerala.

According to Mr. Raghavan, who also sought an explanation from the BJP leadership in Keralam over the move, the Railways had already been neglecting Malabar in the introduction of new services and other development projects and warned that removing a revenue-generating area such as Mangaluru from the Palakkad division was a challenge to the passengers. He said a mass protest would be organised against the decision.