Darjeeling Mail - উত্তরবঙ্গের ঐতিহ্য - Joydeep Roy

Construct Railway Line for Kodagu.
Construct new Railway lines in Kodgu District. As Coorg is the one and only district in Karnataka(out of 27) without being connected to Railway Line. The proposed Railway line can be from Mangalore & Thalassery. As Mangalore-Hassan line is passing through Kabakaputtur, new Railway line can be laid from Kabakaputtur to Virajpet via Sullia, Sampaje, Madikeri & Murnad. This line is expected to have a maximum length of 115km, so the total length from Mangalore to Madikeri will be around 135km and Mangalore to Virajpet distance will be around 165km. Ghat section & forest are only expected between Sampaje & Madikeri for a distance of around 15 km. Another line shall...
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be from Thalassery to Mysore via Kannur Airport(Mattannur), Iritty, Virajpet, Gonikkoppal, Thithimathi, Aneshowkkoor, Hunsur & Bilikere, linking Hassan-Mysore line, just after Bilikere. This line is expected to have a maximum length of 180km. So, the total length from Mangalore to Mysore via Madikeri & Virajpet will be only 265km, as against 310km at present via Sakleshpur & Hassan. Kannur-Mattannur(Airport) line is also expected alongwith Thalassery-Mysore line. On Thalassery-Mysore line, Ghat section & Forest is expected between Makutta & Perumbadi(near Virajpet) for a distance of 15km. Another forest section is for a distance of 10km at Anechowkkoor area. As Kodagu is rich in coffee, spices, paddy, etc, this line is also important for its agriculture, besides tourism. Kodagu has been neglected by both the state and central governments till now. Even Chickmagalur is now connected by rail, leaving Coorg as the only district without any single metre of railway track in Karnataka. Unfortunately, elected representatives from Kerala & Karnataka do not show any interest for these lines. Also, this line will connect Kannur, Thalassery, Kozhikode, etc with Bangalore within the shortest distance. Also, tourism in Mysore and Kerala will be highly supported, thus creating a tourist circuit between Kerala & Karnataka. As it is sure that the line will require higher investment, campared to other railway lines on plain lands as it passes through ghat section. Moreover, the returns from this line will also take longer years, as we have the examples of Konkan Railway and Mangalore-Hassan line. But till now, there are many arguments saying it is not viable, as the cost is very high, it passes through forest, threat for wild animals, environmental issues. But, all these arguments are only nasty attempts to stop the Kodagu Railway not to become a reality. The same people do not see other railways like Mangalore-Hassan, Nilgiri Railway, Konkan Railway, Goa-Hubli line, Palakkad-Coimbatore line, Punalur-Tenkashi line, Mumbai-Pune line, etc, etc. In all these cases, many trees were cut and the same environmental problems existed. They will say to demolish these railway lines and plant new trees there at the same place?. Stupid arguments were there against Kodagu Railway whenever there were demands for this railway. It was proposed in 1850s itself. There is no other railway line in India which was proposed around 160 years back and till now not yet become reality. Will Kodagu Railway be always a "Non-Reality Dream" forever?