Mangaluru central station to have 2 more platforms by September
Mangaluru(PTI): The Southern Railway (SR) is planning to complete the work on two new platforms at the Mangaluru central railway station by September next year.
SR general manager John Thomas, who visited the central railway station here on Tuesday and reviewed the ongoing work on the additional platforms, told reporters here that the pit line work at the station will be completed by March. The work on the new platforms will be taken up after that and completed within six months.
The GM said the new platforms will pave way for running more trains from the station and ease congestion, meeting the long-pending demands of the people from the region. Palakkad railway divisional manager Trilok Kothari was also present.
Members of West Coast Railway yatri abhivriddhi committee handed over a petition to Thomas seeking addition of second entry point to the station from the direction of Attavar and the extension of Yeshwantpur-Mangaluru junction Gomateshwara express day train till the central station.
The committee also sought the extension of Puttur passenger train till Subrahmanya road, extension of Mumbai CST Express train to central station and sanctioning a halt for Matsyagandha Express train at Mangaluru junction station. The general manager promised to consider their demands.
The GM said the Cheruvathur-Mangaluru passenger train which helped thousands of students from Kerala studying in Mangaluru will be reintroduced after assessing the Covid situation in the state.
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No unannounced load shedding in Kerala, outages due to overload, says Minister
Palakkad (PTI): Kerala Electricity Minister K Krishnankutty on Saturday said there was no unannounced load shedding in the state, attributing recent power interruptions to temporary overload caused by high consumption.
Clarifying concerns raised from various parts of the state, the minister said the disruptions are not deliberate but occur when demand peaks, particularly between 10 pm and 11 pm.
"It is not being done intentionally. Power consumption has risen sharply, and when there is excessive and indiscriminate usage, the system experiences overload, leading to natural supply interruptions," he told reporters here.
His remarks come amid complaints that several areas have been witnessing frequent power cuts, often lasting around 15 minutes and occurring multiple times during the night.
Krishnankutty said the state's power demand has crossed 6,195 MW, putting pressure on the supply system. He added that around 70 per cent of Kerala's electricity is procured from outside, and existing power banking arrangements have been exhausted.
"We have approached the Regulatory Commission seeking permission to purchase more power. However, this will come at a higher cost," he said.
The minister said the government is trying to avoid increasing electricity tariffs and urged consumers to exercise restraint in usage to help manage the situation.
Responding to opposition criticism over the ruling LDF's earlier claims of a decade without power cuts, he said the current situation is not unique to Kerala.
A power crisis is emerging across the country, he said, and sarcastically asked the Opposition to take note of the role of natural factors in this.
Krishnankutty expressed confidence that the situation would improve within two days, while cautioning that long-term energy security would depend on enhancing in-state power generation.
He also warned that future generations could face serious challenges if adequate electricity production capacity is not developed within Kerala.
