State to soon acquire land for newDharwad-Belagavi railway line

Minister for Large and Medium Scale Industries Jagadish Shettar has said that the State government will immediately initiate the process for acquisition of land required for the recently sanctioned new Dharwad-Belagavi railway line via Kittur.

It may be recalled that the long-pending demand for a direct railway line between Dharwad and Belagavi via Kittur, which would reduce travel time, has finally been sanctioned by the Union government.

Speaking to presspersons in Dharwad on Monday, Mr. Shettar said that in the wake of the Centre’s sanction, the State government, which has already agreed to give the required land free for the project, would immediately initiate the process and hand it over to the Railways at the earliest.

The Minister said that the new railway line would reduce travel time between the two destinations and it would also reduce fuel consumption, especially for freight services.

Mr. Shettar also sought to clarify that the residents of Alnavar and surrounding areas need not be worried as the new railway line would not reduce the railway facilities in the region.

On his meetings with Union Ministers Piyush Goel and D.V. Sadananda Gowda in New Delhi, the former Chief Minister clarified that he had sought an appointment with the Union Ministers for discussion on issues related to the Industrial Corridor between Mumbai and Bengaluru and regarding the Pharma Park coming up on an area of 1,000 acres at Kadechur in Yadgir district. “Both the meetings were related to my department. No other inference should be drawn from these meetings,” he said.

To a query, Mr. Shettar said that he was aware of the problem being faced by industries due to non-availability of oxygen for industrial purposes. “Considering the pandemic situation, priority has been given to oxygen supply to hospitals. There has been no reduction in oxygen production. The problem being faced by the industries is a temporary one,” he said.