Leaders flood Kharge with demands

Elected representatives from northern Karnataka used the flagging off ceremony of two new trains from Hubli to put forward their demands before the Union railway minister Mallikarjun Kharge.

The speakers at the event used the opportunity to put forward their demands to the Railways.

Beginning his speech with thanking the railway minister for giving new trains, MP Prahlad Joshi urged him to make the special train to Gulbarga and to Kurla daily trains.

He urged the minister to take steps to ensure the Karnataka Sampark Kranti Express became truly 'Karnataka Sampark Kranti' by making it run daily via Hubli, Dharwad, Belgaum instead of running via places in Andhra Pradesh. Referring to the ongoing upgrade of the Hubli railway station, Joshi urged the minister to expedite the works and also release adequate funds to complete the pending works.

He also asked the minister to take up the upgrade of the Dharwad railway station.

Joshi urged the railway minister to look into the long-pending Hubli-Ankola railway project which was before

the Central Empowered Committee of the Green Bench of the apex court.

Hubli-Dharwad East MLA Prasad Abbayya said that with new special train to Gulbarga, a long pending demand for direct train to Gulberga had been fulfilled and thanked Kharge for the same.

Prasad urged the railway minister to take up the upgrade of Hubli railway hospital, release funds for renovation of railway quarters and a train that reached Mumbai early in the morning.

Former minister Basavaraj Horatti urged Kharge to start a new train to Bangalore before the Rani Chennamma Express to meet the huge demand.

Minister for small scale industries Prakash Hukkeri sought the conversion of the Miraj-Bangalore train into a daily train, while higher education minister R V Desh-pande asked Kharge to take steps on priority for getting clearances for the Hubli-Ankola railway line. Desh-pande also sought extension of the Shimoga-Talaguppa train up to Honnavar.