RailEnquiry

A central committee meeting of the Malabar Rail Users’ Association held here recently decided to protest strongly against the alleged neglect of Railways towards Kerala in general and to Malabar in particular.The meeting pointed out that the office of the Chief Engineer, who should lead the railway development in Malabar, had been closed down, and that it would adversely affect the region.The meeting condemned the move to divert many trains through the Vallathol Nagar railway station without touching Shoranur Junction.It also criticised the plan to run trains between Chennai and south Kerala through Coimbatore.The meeting appealed to the Railway Ministry to withdraw the move and threatened to initiate protest measures if it failed to do so. The meeting also requested Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, State Minister in charge of Railways Aryadan Mohammed, and MPs from the State to intervene in the issue.The former president of the Calicut Chamber of Commerce K. Moidu inaugurated the meeting that was presided over by association chairman U.K. Damodaran. General convenor C.E. Chakkunni delivered the keynote address, the release added.