State Railways sort out two-decades old issues over Bengaluru suburban Project
Meeting jointly chaired by Railway Minister Piyush Goyal and CM Kumaraswamy
Bengaluru, Feb 22: Decks were cleared Friday for the implementation of the two-decades old suburban railway project for the city with contentious issues being sorted out at a meeting jointly chaired by Railway Minister Piyush Goyal and Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy.
Today the Railway minister took all decisions... He sorted out all the issues, Kumaraswamy told reporters after the meeting, attended by officials of the two sides.
Goyal described it as a "world class project" and said all the issues have been resolved.
He said the Centre changed its suburban railway policy amending the state and the central contribution from 80:20 to 50:50 ration.
The about Rs 17,000 crore and 160-km long project which seeks to connect the city with its suburbs has been approved by the state government recently.
In December last year, Goyal had pushed for expediting the project when a delegation led by JDS supremo and former prime minister H D Deve Gowda and Kumaraswamy met him in New Delhi to discuss the project.
The project in pipeline for two decades was announced in the union budget for 2018-19 to cater to the growth of Bengaluru Metropolis subject to mandatory approvals and sanction.
The state government had raised 19 issues, including extension of the project to important satellite towns and economically important clusters, connectivity to airport, cost of railway land on nominal lease basis and development of stations in phases.
Goyal Friday said there will be 12 interchanges and the plan drawn up was of international standard.
"At some point there will be three levels.There will be road, Metro and Railways. It is a world class project we are bringing to a world class city, the railway minister said.
The railways also agreed to give Rs 6,000 crore worth land free of charge for the project.
The land will be given at Re 1 token lease rent, which is outside the suburban policy... So, it is actually free of charge, Goyal added.
Regarding the Kolar Railway coach factory, he said it will be reviewed as the focus was on the optimum usage of the Raebareli Coach factory.
The Raebareli factory was not manufacturing coaches when the government took over in 2014. However, its production capacity was now 711 coaches and the aim was to increase it to 1,420 coaches annually.
He took a veiled dig at Congress leader Sonia Gandhi, who represents Raebareli, saying though coach factory was announced in 2007 during the UPA regime, not a single coach was manufactured till 2014.
"It is constituency of a very senior leader, so the project was set up there. All the machines were lying idle.
I don't know what corruption happened there, Goyal said.
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Commercial LPG hike: Delhi restaurant owners warn of higher menu rates, job losses
New Delhi (PTI) A day after a 50 per cent rise in commercial LPG cylinder prices, Delhi's food business, with restaurant owners and street vendors have warned of higher menu rates, financial strain and potential job losses if the trend persists.
The price of commercial LPG was hiked by a steep Rs 993 per 19 kg cylinder, marking the third consecutive monthly hike amid rising global energy prices linked to the West Asia conflict.
For many in the restaurant industry, the spike has been both sudden and steep.
Manpreet Singh, honorary treasurer of the National Restaurant Association of India, said that eateries are already grappling with supply challenges alongside rising costs.
"There is a huge difficulty in getting these cylinders, and black marketing is also increasing in many unregulated sectors," he said, noting that prices that were once around Rs 1,600, often dropping to nearly Rs 1,300 with discounts, have now surged to between Rs 3,000 and Rs 4,000 per cylinder.
He further added that a medium-sized restaurant typically uses between two and five cylinders daily, making the increase particularly burdensome as costs mount.
Singh further said that as costs mount, smaller establishments could struggle to stay afloat. Instead, the association has advised restaurants to shift towards piped natural gas connections through Indraprastha Gas Limited as a more sustainable alternative.
"If this problem continues, PNG is the only long-term solution," he said, adding that temporary measures like coal offer limited relief due to slower cooking times and that it can largely be used only for tandoors.
Echoing similar concerns, Kabir Suri, owner of Mamagoto in Khan Market, said the impact is already visible across the industry. "There has been almost a threefold increase in cylinder prices for restaurants," he said, adding that rising fuel and logistics costs are compounding the pressure.
"If this continues, it will become a significant financial burden, and food prices will inevitably go up. Adding to this burden, higher fuel costs are also affecting logistics and transportation, making a price rise unavoidable. The extent of the impact will vary between small eateries and large chains depending on their scale," he said.
Global oil prices have surged nearly 50 per cent following disruptions in energy supply chains due to the West Asia conflict, pushing up commercial fuel costs and transport expenses.
A West Delhi-based restaurateur said they are trying to manage rising costs while keeping their staff secure. "We are trying to ensure that our staff, from kitchen workers to waiters, are paid on time and do not face immediate hardship," the owner said.
"We are a small restaurant with seating for about 20 to 25 people at a time. But if this continues for long, we will have to take difficult calls. There is only so much we can absorb, and menu prices will have to go up. We hope this does not continue for a longer period," he said.
Another restaurant owner in North Delhi, who did not wish to be named, said operational adjustments alone may not be enough. "We are checking our costs very carefully and trying to cut wherever possible, but if fuel prices remain high, it will eventually affect how we run the business," the owner said.
"Coal helps in tandoor cooking, but it takes more time," the owner further added.
The strain is even more acute among street vendors, many of whom operate on thin margins. A vendor in Saket said he had recently expanded his business, moving from a mobile cart to a rented outlet.
"I have a family to feed and more responsibilities now. Earlier, I managed with a moving cart, but after renting the place, expenses increased," he said. "Whenever cylinders were unavailable, I had to buy them at higher rates in the black market. Now even regular supply is too expensive, and if this continues, we may have to shut down," he added.
In Laxmi Nagar, another vendor said they are struggling to keep the business running. "Sometimes we even used domestic cylinders from home when supply ran out because we had to keep the stall running," he said, adding that rising costs leave little choice but to increase prices or bear losses.
On April 1, the rates of commercial LPG cylinders were hiked by Rs 195.50 per cylinder, followed by a Rs 114.5 hike on March 1, taking the total increase over the past three months to Rs 1,303. With the latest revision, a 19 kg commercial LPG cylinder now costs Rs 3,371.5 in Delhi, up from Rs 2,078.5 earlier.
The prices of domestic LPG cylinders used for household cooking have remained unchanged. They were last increased by Rs 60 per 14.2 kg cylinder on March 7 and currently cost Rs 913 in Delhi.
