'Speed up BG work in Madurai-Bodi section'
Feb 9, 2015, 10.05 AM IST
MADURAI: With acceleration of work on India-based Neutrino Observatory (INO) that is going to come up in Pottipuram of West Bodi Hills, rail users in the region urged railway ministry to expedite broad gauge work on Madurai-Bodinayakkanur section closed for last five years.
The section closed from 2011 has...
more... seen very little progress as meagre fund allotted in place of proposed Rs 280 crore. INO scientists also opined that proper rail connectivity will help them to transport material to their site.
Naba K Mondal, spokesperson for INO, said a proper railway line between Madurai - Bodi will be of great help to them since they will be moving loads of iron plates to their site for their neutrino detector.
Further, train transport between Madurai and Bodi will be useful since Inter-institutional Centre for High Energy Physics (IICHEP) will come up in Madurai.
"With our centre in Madurai and observatory in Bodi, proper train connectivity will be of great help for scientists to travel between these destinations. Further, we could also use rail lines to transport material," Mondal said.
Theni MP R Parthiban in a petition to railway ministry also stated that Madurai - Bodinayakkanur section will be very useful for INO which is going to come up near Bodi as the Rs 1,500 crore project is cleared by the ministry of environment.
With INO project taking off, gauge conversion works should be expedited, he said.
S N Mubarak from Traders Association in Theni said they have to undertake cumbersome and accident prone road journey in place of safe train travel. "We believe that centre will give thrust on this project this year considering INO project and it will help farmers and traders to shift their goods to Madurai and beyond," he said.
Recently, Tamil Nadu Chamber of Commerce and Industry members met Union railway minister Suresh Prabhu and submitted a memorandum which included fund allocation to Madurai - Bodinayakkanur section.
Agricultural and manufactured products worth Rs 2,400 crore per annum are being transported through truck transport to and fro the region. Major portion of this traffic would be diverted through rail transport on completion of the project. Railway would also get revenue of Rs 600 to Rs 700 crore through passenger traffic, they pointed out.
