Mullappally flays Centre’s decision to shift Mangaluru from Palakkad railway division

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Congress leader and former Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president Mullappally Ramachandran has termed the Union government’s decision to remove the Mangaluru region from Southern Railway’s Palakkad division as “unilateral” and the latest example of political discrimination and neglect towards Keralam.

In a statement issued on Monday (August 24), he said the Gazette notification bringing areas of coastal Karnataka, including Ullal and Mangaluru, under the Mysuru railway division had been issued without informing MPs from Keralam or the State government.

“Keralam should stand united and protest against this discrimination,” Mr. Ramachandran said.

He said the shifting of the Mangaluru region from the Palakkad division would result in a loss of at least ₹600 crore in freight revenue and a 70% reduction in the division's total annual revenue.

Mr. Mullappally accused the Centre of pursuing policies aimed solely at protecting corporate interests and said it was in a hurry to sell railway land.

The former KPCC president said the move came at a time when Keralam was pursuing its longstanding demand for a separate railway zone for the State. He alleged that the decision was politically motivated and had been taken with an eye on the Karnataka Assembly elections.

Rashtriya Janata Dal State president M.V. Shreyams Kumar has condemned the Railway Board’s decision to detach the Mangaluru area from the Palakkad division of the Southern Railway and to merge it with the Mysuru division of the South Western Railway.

In a statement issued here on Monday, he said that the disastrous move was coming at a time when the demand for a special railway zone for Keralam had been kept pending. All 80 services now originating from Mangaluru would be shifted to the Mysuru division. It would affect the freight movement as well. The Palakkad division would soon become a loss-making venture, Mr. Shreyams Kumar said.

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