Bring Mangaluru Railway network under South Western Railway: KCCI
Mangaluru, Dec 11: The Kanara Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) has requested Railway Minister Piyush Goyal to hand over the Mangaluru railway region to the South Western Railway (SWR).
In a letter to the Union Minister, KCCI president Issac Vas said the overall potential of coastal districts can be fully exploited only if the region is administered by a single zone.
He said Mangaluru is now fortunate to have train connectivity to Bengaluru, Kerala and Mumbai.
However, being under the control of three railway zones (Southern Railway, SWR and Konkan Railway Corporation), train operations are getting complicated due to lack of coordination among the zones.
Many development proposals including introduction of new trains and modification of existing services did not materialise due to the lack of coordination, Vas said in the letter.
He said the Railway Ministry had in 2004 decided to hand over the Mangaluru railway network to Mysuru division of SWR after the completion of the gauge conversion between Mangaluru and Hassan.
The Ministry has not implemented the decision even 14 years after the gauge conversion.
Vas said freight movement between New Mangalore Port Trust and other parts of Karnataka will improve if Mangaluru comes under SWR.
With the proposed expansion of MRPL, bringing Mangaluru-Thokur line under SWR will also enhance the operations in the region, he said in the letter.
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T'gana BC panel seeks reports over infant's death, family alleges caste abuse
Hyderabad (PTI): The Telangana Commission for Backward Classes on Monday sought reports from state government officials on the death of an infant following alleged assault and caste abuse against her family members in Nagarkurnool district while visiting a temple fair.
In separate letters, Commission Chairman G Niranjan urged Endowments Department Commissioner S Harish and Nagarkurnool district Collector Badavath Santhosh to furnish the reports within three days.
Niranjan drew the officials' attention to media reports on the death of the two-month-old baby at Kummera village in the district and alleged caste discrimination and denial of entry to the temple fair to the baby's family belonging to a BC community.
BJP OBC Morcha's state unit president G Anand Goud alleged inadequate response by the police in the incident and demanded a transparent investigation into the incident.
Alleging that the deceased baby's father was attacked in the incident, he also demanded action against the attackers.
Goud told reporters that BJP's state unit president N Ramachander Rao would visit the village on February 24 and meet the baby's family members.
Meanwhile, a BRS delegation met DGP B Shivadhar Reddy and demanded a comprehensive inquiry into the incident.
The BRS leaders sought action against a person who allegedly attacked the infant's parents.
BC associations have held protests over the past few days regarding the alleged caste discrimination against the deceased infant's family members.
Police said on Sunday that four persons were arrested in connection with the cases registered after the family alleged that the baby died following an "assault" by a group of villagers. The family also alleged that they were abused in the name of caste in the incident on February 18.
However, a villager, part of the group, lodged a counter-complaint with the police the same day, alleging that he was attacked with stones during a scuffle with the family, sustaining a head injury, following which a case was registered.
The infant died on February 21 and her mother, who belongs to an SC community, also lodged a complaint alleging her daughter died due to the physical assault on the family by some villagers, police said.
