Madikeri:

Railway minister Suresh Prabhu’s plans to get Kodagu on the rail map has run into trouble with Kodavas asking him not to extend the proposed Mysuru-Kushalnagar rail line.

The project was announced in this year’s budget. Following an RTI query by an environmentalist, railways officials have revealed that there are plans to extend the rail line to Madikeri and Makkanduru, a tiny village 3.5 km from Madikeri. Alarmed by the development, Kodavas living in Mysuru and Kodagu and environmentalists, too, have started tweeting urging him to stop the extension plan.

The online petition has got 11,976 signatures. Railway minister Suresh Prabhu has responded to the petitions and tweeted that he will go through the project in detail.

Aiyappa from Kodagu working in Vrindavan Hospital Mysuru told TOI that the railway project connecting Kushalnagar has not yet got the green signal. He fears that the line to Makkanduru village will affect Kodagu district’s natural resources.

Petitioners Sundar Muthanna, Shristi Kukreja and Fehmi Mohammad have started a campaign through www. Change.orglink. They fear that the estates and forests in Kodagu will be with the railway track. River Cauvery which is the lifeline of South India is under threat, claims the petition.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Mangalore / TNN / June 11th, 2016