'Will Build Pit Line in Khanapur'

Railway Minister Mallikarjun Kharge flagging off the Humanabad-Bidar DEMU train at Humanabad railway station on Sunday


A railway pit line will be constructed at Khanapur of Bhalki taluk in Bidar district at a cost of `10 crore and the project will be inaugurated in 15 days, said Railway Minister Mallikarjun Kharge.

He was speaking at the commissioning of the Khanapur-Humanabad new rail line and flagging off the Humanabad-Bidar Diesel Multiple Unit (DEMU) train at Humanabad railway station on Sunday.

“Due to the lack of a pit line, we could not run the Bidar-Yesvantpur train regularly. The regular service of the train will start by March-April,” he said.

The parliament has approved the proposal to set up a railway administrative office at Gulbarga, he said.

Kharge instructed South Central railway general Manager P K Shrivatsav to complete the remaining line between Humanabad and Gulbarga within two years. He said `200 crore was spent on the 37.20 km new railway line between Khanapur and Humanabad (part of the Bidar-Gulbarga rail line project) and `18 crore for the Bidar-Humanabad DEMU train. Bhalki railway station will be renovated at a cost of `50 lakh, he added.

“The 106.60 kilometre long new railway line between Bidar and Gulbarga was sanctioned at a cost of `369.70 crore. This is a 50:50 cost sharing project between the Ministry of Railways and the government of Karnataka. The total expenditure on the project was `397.61 crore by November 2013.

The revised cost of the project is estimated at around `839.83 crore and has been vetted by the Finance ministry, said Kharge.

Former chief minister and Bidar MP N Dharam Singh, Humanabad MLA Rajshekhar Patil and Bhalki MLA Eshwar Khandre also spoke.

MLC Basavaraj Patil Humanabad, Chincholi MLA Dr Umesh Jadhav, ZP president Santoshamma Pundalikappa Koudyal, South Central Railway General Manager Shrivatsav and other officials were present.

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