Mysore/Mysuru: With nothing moving in the right direction with regard to Naganahalli Satellite Terminal Project that has been caught in land acquisition tangles and the refusal of State Government to sanction funds for land acquisition, once again, MP Pratap Simha has knocked the doors of Railway Ministry to bear the entire project cost including land acquisition.

Meeting Railway Minister Ashwin Vaishnaw in New Delhi yesterday, the MP informed him about the criticality of the project to Mysuru to decongest the City Railway Station for more passenger amenities and also to improve passenger convenience.

All the basic works for the project including the techno feasibility study and cost benefit analysis have been conducted and the Railways has decided to execute the work in two phases with the first phase costing Rs. 496.29 crore and the total cost being Rs. 789.29 crore, the MP told the Minister, urging him to accord speedy approval for the project.

Once the Naganahalli Terminal Station becomes a reality, there will be more scope for additional trains to come to Mysuru, especially from Bengaluru. Naganahalli Terminal’s objective is to decongest the city as well as to provide better service to passengers residing in sub-urban areas. The project is planned on the outskirts of the city where trains can originate or terminate.

Introduction of new services with the existing infrastructure at the City Railway Station is impossible and the Naganahalli Terminal can take care of the projected passenger traffic and achieve a growth of 10 percent annually for the next 20-25 years. Initially, the Terminal Station was proposed at Kadakola Railway Station, but the Railway authorities later decided to have a Terminal Station at Naganahalli that comes before the Mysuru City Railway Station, he noted. 

Simha told the Minister that over 165 acres of land was needed for the project and if compensated suitably, the farmers and land-owners were ready to part with the land. He apprised the Minister that the Railways has classified the project as critical in nature and with the State showing reluctance to allocate funds for land acquisition, the Railways must go ahead with the critically important project that will go a long way in boosting infrastructural development of the region, he said.