Title - ‘Initiate BG line work’ - The Hindu

Members of the Madurai-Bodi Broad Gauge Line Retrieval Committee appealed to the State government to take the initiative in executing Madurai-Bodi BG conversion work immediately as the Planning Commission decided to make the states share 50 per cent of the project cost.

In a petition submitted to the Collector at the grievance day meeting held here on Monday, Committee Chairman R. Sankara Narayanan said that Theni was the only district that did not have a rail link.

Train service, particularly parcel service was necessary to transport agri-commodities, particularly cardamom to upcountry market. Thousands of students and office-goers had to depend upon bus service to reach Madurai, the nearest city for study and work every day, and return home.

Theni was also becoming a major agri-producing centre. Volume of freight movement will certainly go up on establishment of SIDCO industrial estate and food processing industries, he pointed out.

New BG line and rail link up to Gudalur were 50-year-old dream of the people in the district.

The committee had already submitted petitions to the central ministers, Prime Minister and had taken out a march from Gudalur to Theni to press for sanctioning of funds for the BG conversion work.

In 2012, the Railways informed that the proposal had been sent to the government and was awaiting the approval of Railway Board.

Now, the Planning Commission, recently announced that the State Government should share 50 per cent of project cost. The Railways will not execute any project in states that did not share the costs, it announced.

At present, many projects for Tamil Nadu were pending at the approval stage. “The role of the State government was very crucial in making our dream a reality. The Tamil Nadu government should strive hard to bring in more projects to the State,” he appealed.