When Rly. officials become unreasonable, MP should approach the Minister

Mysuru: A two-furlong stretch of a public road that has been blocked by the Railways near the Ring Road on the Hazrath Gumnam Shahwali Dargah Road at Bannimantap has led to a lot of inconvenience to truck and lorry owners. This also has increased the movement of heavy vehicles that ply in break-neck speed on the Jodi Thenginamara Road leading to accidents and deaths. 

The vexed issue was brought to the notice of Mysuru District Minister G.T. Devegowda yesterday while he was on city rounds by Narasimharaja MLA Tanveer Sait. Responding to the MLA, the Minister assured the MLA that he will take up the issue with Minister of State for Railways Suresh Angadi. 

On his part, MLA Tanveer Sait told Star of Mysore this morning that though many futile meetings have taken place in this regard, he will once again soon meet MP Pratap Simha and Mysuru Divisional Railway Manager Aparna Garg and solve the issue. “The onus is on MP Pratap Simha to get the road cleared,” he added.  

The road provides a direct connection between Railway Goods Shed and the Ring Road. As the road is blocked by the Railways, trucks are using Jodi Thenginamara Road, leading to frequent road blocks and accidents on that stretch due to the constant movement of heavy vehicles and other small vehicles.

Directly links Ring Road

The road and bridge works were sanctioned due to the efforts of Tanveer Sait. The road is adjacent to the Railway track and connects the Goods Shed directly to the Ring Road. Now the Railways, claiming ownership of the land, has blocked the movement on the road by dumping mud and construction debris. If this road is cleared, truckers can directly enter the Goods Shed from the Ring Road without using the Jodi Thenginamara Road.

More than 800 trucks transport goods from the trains to different parts of the region and if two goods trains come to the Goods Shed, there is a requirement of 1,800 trucks. As the Railways have blocked the road, all these trucks take the Jodi Thenginamara Road. 

Railways cite safety issue

Realising this, the Mysuru Urban Development Authority had taken up the road works between the Goods Shed and the Ring Road worth Rs. 15 crore but the Railways has refused to part with the land. The 800-metre road works include 400-metre stretch near old Ideal Java factory near the Railway under bridge and 400-metre stretch near Karakushalanagar. These stretches have been blocked by the Railways. 

The Railways has stated that new road cannot be made as it will come close to the Railway track and trespass cannot be permitted near the track. “Heavy movement of trucks is a safety issue. The present road arrangement is functioning smoothly from Goods Shed area side. Hence in view of safety, the new road cannot be made,” Railways had stated in the past. 

Truckers’ version

The Hazrath Gumnam Shahwali Dargah Road was developed with a cost of Rs.16 crore due to the efforts of Tanveer Sait. The road was developed and a new bridge has been constructed for connectivity exclusively for the movement of trucks. A mountain near the Dargah was also partly cleared to facilitate the road construction. Despite all these efforts, the Railways have not budged and have refused to clear the road, say truckers. 

More than 10 meetings

“More than 10 meetings have taken place with the Railway authorities. Even Pratap Simha has been apprised about the issue. The road was planned in 2009-10 when H.S. Shankaralingegowda was the Chamaraja MLA and later in 2015, the then CM Siddharamaiah had performed the Guddali Puja on April 7 that year. The Guddali Puja was attended by Star of Mysore Editor-in-Chief K.B. Ganapathy, the then MLA Vasu and the then Mysuru Railway Divisional Railway Manager Rajkumar Lal. Still the issue has not been settled till now” Tanveer Sait regretted. 

Railways adopting double standards: MLA

“The argument of Railways that there must not be any movement within 100 metres of the Railway track is unreasonable and illogical as there are houses just beside the tracks at Brindavan Extension in Mysuru, Mandya, Channapattana and Ramanagaram. As we enter Bengaluru, we find houses very close to the tracks. The Railways is adopting double standards,” he alleged. 

Tanveer Sait said that many times, Pratap Simha was urged to solve this problem but he has not shown interest. “Our MP has good contacts in the Railways and if he minds, he can get the road cleared by using his good offices. He has to have the will power to solve this long-pending issue,” Sait said.