Mangaluru under SWR: Railway activists and people’s representatives say it will boost infrastructure and connectivity
The transfer of the Mangaluru railway region to the South Western Railway has sparked a political dispute between Karnataka and Kerala. Local activists support the move as a way to improve infrastructure, while Kerala officials have formally objected to the decision.
Why it matters
This highlights the intersection of regional infrastructure development, state-level political interests, and federal railway administration.
Keralam Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan’s statement that bringing the Mangaluru Railway Region under South Western Railway’s Mysuru Division from Southern Railway’s Palakkad Division would affect railway development in Keralam only corroborates the oft-repeated grievance of coastal Karnataka that railway revenues from Mangaluru were being used to develop railway infrastructure in the neighbouring State, claimed Pashchima Karavali Railway Yatri Abhivriddhi Samithi and other railway patrons.
The demand for jurisdictional realignment has been voiced in coastal Karnataka ever since the formation of SWR in 2003. Though a decision to this effect was taken in 2006, it was never notified. The gazette notification was finally issued late on Friday.
Mr. Satheesan has called the Railways’ “unilateral decision” unacceptable and said the government would take up the issue with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. His predecessor, Pinarayi Vijayan, has also objected to the move.
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