KOZHIKODE: The Southern Railway has started procedural steps to ensure slow death of Thiruvananthpuram division by separating the prominent railway administrative sections and linking them with the Madurai division. According to an order issued by Manjunath Yadav, deputy chief engineer (Electrical), Chennai on November 10, invited feedback from officials of Madurai and Thiruva-nanthpuram divisions regarding the implications of transferring Tirunelveli (Railway code- TEN)- Nagarcoil Junction (NCJ) section and Kanyakumari (CAPE)-Nagarcoil Junction (NCJ)- Thiruvananthpauram Central (TVC) section from Thiruvananthpuram Central division to Madurai division.
The communiqué also suggests merging Kollam (QLN) section except Bhagavathipuram with Thiruvananthpuram Junction division. The reason for the change has been cited as more comfortable from ‘operating point of view’. The rail users’ forums have come out against the move saying that this will reduce the Thiruvananthapuram division into almost nil as Madurai division will be getting almost 160 kilometres. The Confederation of All India Rail Users’ Association national general secretary Dr
A.V. Anoop told this newspaper that the move to separate the sections and handover to Madurai amounts to killing the Thiruvananthapuram division. “The organisation has plans to meet Union minister for railways soon highlighting the issue,” he said, adding that it is high time the state government rises to the occasion and coordinate the efforts of all the people’s representatives to pressurise the Union government to take steps to ensure justice is done for the state, he added.
The passengers’ organisations also alleged that if the state government failed it would be a repeat of the past when the railway coach factory allotted to Palakkad went to Haryana. Moves are also afoot to constitute Mangalore (Mangalapuram) railway division separating about 544 km of Palakkad railway division from Cher-uvathur to Mangalore, it was pointed out.
