Thiruvananthapuram | Keralam Chief Minister V D Satheesan on Saturday termed the Railway Board's decision to shift Mangaluru from the Palakkad division to the Mysuru division "unilateral" and said the state would approach the Centre to seek its immediate reconsideration.
Satheesan, in a statement, said the decision was taken without informing the state government or holding any discussion with it and asserted that seeking its reconsideration was Keralam's "united demand".
Excluding the strategically important Mangaluru Junction would substantially reduce the revenue of the Palakkad division and adversely affect its development, he said, describing the Railway Ministry's decision as highly objectionable.
He said the merger of the area from Ullal to Mangaluru, currently under Southern Railway, with South Western Railway would cause a major loss to both Southern Railway and Kerala.
"We will approach the Centre seeking an urgent solution to the issue. Letters will be sent to the Prime Minister and the Union Railway Minister. With the cooperation of the state's MPs, pressure will be exerted on the Centre to reconsider the decision," Satheesan said.
Sharing similar views, Opposition Leader Pinarayi Vijayan also strongly criticised the Railways' decision, alleging that Keralam was being subjected to "gross discrimination and neglect" by the Centre and the Railways.
Vijayan said the move was "highly condemnable and a grave injustice" and urged the state government and MPs from Keralam to intervene strongly to get the decision reversed.
The transfer of the Mangaluru region to the Mysuru division would reduce the revenue of the Palakkad division by up to 60 per cent, he alleged in a statement.
"With the Mangaluru region being attached to the Mysuru division, the Palakkad division is effectively being brought to an end," Vijayan said.
He said the loss of Mangaluru, a major port city, would significantly hit the division's revenue. Cargo worth Rs 625 crore was handled through the Panambur goods yard in the last financial year and this entire revenue would be lost to the Palakkad division, he claimed.
Vijayan said Palakkad would effectively become a division without even a single train of its own once trains originating from Mangaluru, including those bound for Thiruvananthapuram, came under the Mysuru division.
Vijayan recalled that the creation of the Salem division in 2006 had resulted in Palakkad losing commercially important cities, including Coimbatore, causing the division to lose nearly half its revenue.
"With Mangaluru now also being separated, Kerala's railway development will remain a dream," he said.
He alleged that there was a move to confine Kerala to only the Thiruvananthapuram division, which would make it difficult for the state to secure new trains because its railway revenue was low.
The authority to decide the schedules of trains originating from Mangaluru, including those to Thiruvananthapuram, would now rest with the Mysuru division, which would adversely affect Keralam, Vijayan said.
Referring to a statement issued by the Chief Minister's Office on the Railway decision, Vijayan said the chief minister and the state government should take more effective steps in the matter.
He also urged the state government to bring together all MPs from Keralam and mount a strong intervention with the Centre to get the decision reversed.
Senior Congress leader and Kasaragod MP Rajmohan Unnithan also criticised the move, calling it another example of the Railways' alleged neglect of Keralam, particularly the Malabar region.
In a Facebook post, Unnithan said the decision reflected a continuing "stepmotherly attitude" towards Kerala and asserted that it would not be accepted under any circumstances.
He said the order indicated that more details, including the exact new boundaries, would be available through a gazette notification.
Unnithan also expressed concern that if the Mangaluru region, including the New Mangalore Port Authority (NMPA), which he described as the lifeline of the Palakkad division, was lost, the division could eventually face a merger with either the Salem or Thiruvananthapuram division on the ground that it was no longer operationally profitable.
He demanded that the Railway authorities immediately withdraw the decision and said he has written to the Railway Minister and other senior Railway officials seeking intervention.
Congress leader and Palakkad MP V K Sreekandan alleged that the division was being split without informing Kerala's MPs or the state government.
He alleged that the Centre was attempting to weaken and eventually eliminate the Palakkad division by reducing its revenue and funding, and said strong protests would be raised both inside and outside Parliament.
Sreekandan said the Railway decision was taken "overnight" without consulting the state government or elected representatives.
"Palakkad is one of the highest-revenue divisions in South India. The decision to divide it was taken without explaining the reason or consulting anyone," he said, adding that strong protests would be organised against the move.
The shifting of Mangaluru, he said, would mean that Palakkad would no longer have long-distance trains, while the resulting loss of revenue would seriously affect the division as well as railway development in Keralam."Palakkad is one of the highest-revenue divisions in South India. The decision to divide it was taken without explaining the reason or consulting anyone," he said, adding that strong protests would be organised against the move.
The shifting of Mangaluru, he said, would mean that Palakkad would no longer have long-distance trains, while the resulting loss of revenue would seriously affect the division as well as railway development in Keralam.
