Realignment of rly route sought

Former MLA from Dhule Anil Gote has launched an agitation for a railway line on the Manmad-Dhule-Sendhwa-Dhandmod-Mhow-Indore route, which according to him will cut the distance between Mumbai and Delhi by 170 km and save the Railways Rs 500 crore in operating costs.

Speaking to Business Standard, Gote said, "Earlier this week, we held a massive agitation in Dhule for this route which is one of the most underdeveloped parts of the country despite being rich in natural resources and populated by minorities and tribals in whose name the present government in the Centre announces schemes, everyday."

Claiming that despite the route being economically viable, the Railways has put it on the backburner as no influential political leader represents the region.

The Railways has shown urgency in linking Baramti and Pune, and Beed and Ahmadnagar which are represented by two political heavyweights, Union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar and BJP's national general secretary Gopinath Munde respectively. However, these routes are not viable.

On the other hand, the route suggested by him will give at least 7 per cent returns on investment of around Rs 1,500 crore every year, provision of not a single rupee was made on the project in the railway budget for three years, he claimed.

In 2002 then railway minister Nitish Kumar ordered a techno-economic feasibility study report for the route which was completed in 2004 and this report said that it will bring returns to Railways at 7 per cent. Despite this, no provision was made for the route in subsequent Railway Budgets.

"What worries me is the apathy of elected representatives from the area and the state government to press for the project. Madhya Pradesh has already informed the railway ministry that it is ready to share the burden of the project as it will benefit that state too," he added.

However, Maharashtra has shown no interest in the project. If both Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra pressure the Centre, it will be forced to take up the project.

Pointing out the need for the project, Gote said, at least 250 buses ply every day in both directions on the Mumbai-Indore-Pune-Indore route. If the area gets connected by Railways then a sizeable section of the population will prefer to travel by train.

Besides, hundreds of trucks ply on this route and Indore is a major business centre of Madhya Pradesh.

"Once the project is completed, it will cut the travel time between Mumbai and Delhi by four hours and if Himsagar Express which connects Jammu with Kanyakumari plies on this route, it will cut 10 hours to12 hours of journey time," he claimed.

This project also makes economic sense for the Railways as it will reduce its operational cost on operating various passenger and goods trains and bring savings of around Rs 510 crore to the Railways, he said.