Hubballi: Striving towards the vision of a Carbon Neutral Railway by 2030, fast-tracking electrification of its network, South Western Railway has achieved 511.7 Route Kms of Electrification as of 28.03.2022 surpassing the Railway board target of 459 Route km for the Financial year 2021 – 22.
In the previous financial year 2020-21, South Western Railway had completed 476.7 Route km of electrification of its network.
The following sections over South Western Railway have been commissioned after electrification during March 2022:Yelahanka – Chikkaballapur (45 Route Kms), Tumakuru – Nitturu (27 Route Kms), Sivadi –...
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Omluru (44 Route Kms), Hosadurga – Chikjajur (30 Route Kms), Alnavar – Ambewadi (26 Route Kms) Gadag – Hole Alur(48 Route Kms ), Kudachi – Ghataprabha (47 Route Kms ) and Londa – Tinaighat (11 Route Kms).
General Manager Sanjeev Kishore has stated that no stone is left unturned to achieve and exceed targets. He said that the close coordination and cooperation between Divisions and among Operations and Electrical Departments enabled timely availability of line blocks to erect electrical infrastructure. He has expressed his gratitude for the excellent efforts of CORE, RVNL, and PGCIL which are the executing agencies if electrification works over the South Western Railway.
With the completion of this electrification, South Western Railway will run more trains with electrical engines for a major part of the route which is expected to reduce the consumption of diesel considerably on a daily basis. This will not only reduce diesel and fossil fuel dependency but also enhance the line capacity and speed up of trains improving punctuality.
From about 200+ RKM in 2016, the electrified track on SWR has now risen to .1734 out of a total of 3566 Route Kms of its network.
Munirabad- Mehabub Nagar new railway line: SWR aims to complete 18.5 KM of track between Karatagi and Sindhanur.

The pink book in Railways consists of the various programs or projects that are undertaken or yet to be undertaken. It consists of detailed info on all the different zones of the Indian Railways.
Once the Rail Budget is passed, the ‘Pink Book’ becomes the authority to start preliminary works related to the project.
While we get carried away by the announcements, the actual intent of the ministry is known when you see the Pink Book.
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in thousand of Rupees)
New Lines:Bagalkot-Kudachi (142 km) – 25,00,00
Belgaum-Dharwad via Kittur (73.10 km) – 20,00,01
Doubling:
Hospet-Hubli-Londa-Tinaighat-Vasco da Gama (352.28 km) – 400,00,00
TRAFFIC FACILITIES-YARD REMODELLING & OTHERS
Ambewadi – Signalling arrangement, station building and communication arrangement between Alnavar-Ambewadi to run passenger trains – 1
ROAD SAFETY WORKS-ROAD OVER/UNDER BRIDGES.
Desur-Belgaum – Road over bridge in lieu of level crossing No.382 with subway – 3,00,00
Desur-Belgaum – Road over bridge in lieu of level crossing No.383 with subway – 3,00,00
Belgaum-Sambre- Road over bridge in lieu of level crossing No. 381 – 50,00
Raybag-Chinchli- Road over bridge in lieu of level crossing No. 438 – 10,00
Khanapur – Ugarkhurd – TFR – 125 km – 4,60

PinkBook 2022-23 : What allocations made for various railway project’s in Belagavi ? Details
The Indian railway’s Pink Book 2022-23, which details budget allotments of projects, was released on Wednesday.
The outlay proposed for the Projects : (Figures are in Thousands)
1. Belagavi-Dharwad via Kittur (73.10 km) (2022-23) : Cap. Rs 20,00,01
1B....
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Bagalkot-Kudachi (142 km) : Cap. 25,00,00. Deposit Rs.25,00,00
2. Desur-Belagavi – Road over bridge in lieu of level crossing No.383 with subway : RRSK Rs. 3,00,000
3. Belagavi-Sambre- Road over bridge in lieu of level crossing No. 381 : RRSK Rs. 50,00
4. Community halls at Dharwad, Belagavi, Vasco, Hindupur, Bangarapet & Arsikere : Rs. 50,00
5. Khanapur – Ugarkhurd – TFR – 125 km : Rs. 1,00
6. Raybag-Chinchli- Road over bridge in lieu of level crossing No. 438 : Rs. 10,00
7. Hospet-Hubli-Londa-Tinaighat-Vasco da Gama (352.28 km) : Rs. 400,00,00
8. Londa-Vasco- Road over bridge in lieu of level crossing No. 25 : Rs. 10,00
9. Londa-Vasco- Road over bridge in lieu of level crossing No. 17 : Rs. 10,00
10. Londa-Vasco- Road over bridge in lieu of level crossing No. 19 : Rs. 10,00
11. Londa-Miraj – Subways in lieu of level crossings Nos. 332, 443, 457 & 459 (PB#148/2018-19/SWR) : Rs. 10,00
12. Londa – Miraj – Renewal of SEJs – 92 sets (52 kg) (PB#329/2019- 20/SWR) : S Fund Rs. 1,00,000. RRSK : Rs. 4,60
13. Alnawar – Londa – Vasco da Gama (SL) – TFR – 65 km in Patches (PB#328/2019-20/SWR) : S Fund Rs. 2,00,000. RRSK : Rs. 4,60
14. Londa – Vasco da Gama (SL) – TBR – 42 km in patches (PB#328/2019- 20/SWR) : S Fund Rs. 1,00,000. RRSK : Rs. 4,60
15. Londa – Vasco (SL) – TSR(P) – 41.25 km (PB#374/2020-21/SWR) : S Fund Rs. 6,35,89. RRSK : Rs. 4,60
16. Londa – Vasco-da-gama (SL) – TSR(P) – 4.000 km (PB#365/2021- 22/SWR) : S Fund Rs. 3,50,62. RRSK : Rs. 1,00,38.
17. Hubli-Londa – CTR – 12.32 km (P) & TRR – 1.6 km (S) (loops) : S Fund Rs. 1,00. RRSK : Rs. 4,60.
18. Londa-Vasco – TSR – 5.4 km (P), TRR – 1.9 km (S), TRR – 23 km (S) & TSR – 1.9 km (P) : S Fund Rs. 1,00. RRSK : Rs. 4,60.
19. Londa – Vasco – CTR(P) – 8.90 km : S Fund Rs. 1,00. RRSK : Rs. 4,60.
20. Hubli- Londa – CTR(P) – 3.25 km : S Fund Rs. 2,00,00. RRSK : Rs. 4,60.
21. Hubli- Londa – CTR(P) – 12.20 km : S Fund Rs. 50,00. RRSK : Rs. 4,60.
22. Hubballi – Londa (SL) – CTR (P) – 5.10 km in Patches ( Sharp curve) (PB#325/2019-20/SWR) : S Fund Rs. 50,00. RRSK : Rs. 4,60.
23. Londa – Miraj (SL) – CTR (P) – 10.78 km in patches (Sharp curves) (PB#325/2019-20/SWR) : S Fund Rs. 2,00,00. RRSK : Rs. 4,60.
24. Londa – Miraj (SL) – CTR(P) – 4.000 km (PB#366/2021-22/SWR) : S Fund Rs. 3,00,00. RRSK : Rs. 4,60.
25. Londa – Vasco da Gama – TRR (P) – 5 km, TRR (S) (SH) (loop lines) – 3.65 km & TTR – 23 sets : S Fund Rs. 1,00. RRSK : Rs. 4,60.
26. Kudachi – Miraj – TRR – 10.35 km (P), TSR – 8 km (S) & TFR – 25.6 km : S Fund Rs. 1,00. RRSK : Rs. 4,60.
27. Londa – Miraj section – TRR(S) -11.50 kms : S Fund Rs. 1,00. RRSK : Rs. 4,60.
28. Londa Jn.-Vasco-Da-Gama(SL) – TRR(P) – 5.00 KM & CTR(P) – 9.30 km : S Fund Rs. 4,00,000. RRSK : Rs. 4,60.
29. Londa – Vasco – TRR – 9.87 km, TSR – 12.87 km (P) : S Fund Rs. 1,00. RRSK : Rs. 4,60.
30. Londa – Vasco – TSR – 9.62 km (P), TRR – 5.4 km (P), CTR – 5 km (P), TSR – 4.17 km (S) & TRR – 2.6 km (P) (loop lines) : S Fund Rs. 1,00. RRSK : Rs. 4,60.
31. Londa – Miraj – TSR – 6.4 km (S) (loops) & increasing ballast cushion – 35 km : S Fund Rs. 1,00. RRSK : Rs. 4,60.
32. Londa – Miraj – TSR(P) – 5.30 km : S Fund Rs. 1,00. RRSK : Rs. 4,60.
33. Londa-Vasco da Gama – TSR(S) – 8.36 km : S Fund Rs. 1,00. RRSK : Rs. 4,60.
34. Londa Jn.-Miraj Jn(SL) – TBR – 113.50 km : S Fund Rs. 1,00,00. RRSK : Rs. 4,60.
35. Alnawar – Londa – Vasco-da-Gama – TFR – 65.000 km (PB#367/2021- 22/SWR) : S Fund Rs. 3,00,00. RRSK : Rs. 4,60.
36. Londa – Miraj Section – TWR – 30.00Kms : S Fund Rs. 25,00. RRSK : Rs. 4,60.
37. Londa – Vasco & Londa – Miraj Section – TFR – 48.40 kms. : S Fund Rs. 25,00. RRSK : Rs. 4,60.
38. Londa – Miraj (SL) – TFR – 35.70 km (PB#328/2019-20/SWR) : S Fund Rs. 1,00,00. RRSK : Rs. 4,60.
39. Londa-Miraj – Rebuilding (Bridge No.55, 58, 93 & 104) & Londa-Vasco (Bridge No.228) : RRSK Rs.20,00
40. Hospet-Hubli-Londa-Tinaighat-Vasco da Gama (352.28 km)
BRIDGE WORKS, TUNNEL WORKS AND APPROACHES : 41. Kuduchi – Ugarkhurd – Rebuilding (bridge No.184) RRSK Rs. 10,00

Modi is expected to laud the efforts of the health care workers
Two days before Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to interact with Goan politicians, health workers and members of the public via video conference, Congress in Goa has demanded justice from the PM over the Mahadayi issue.
Addressing a press conference in Panaji on Thursday, state Congress president Girish Chodankar also said that the Prime Minister should scrap the three road, rail and power projects along the Goa-Karnataka border, which the Congress official said were being carried out in order to...
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develop the state into a corridor to transport coal to Karnataka's steel mills. 
"BJP leaders have compromised our mother Mahadayi and sold it to Karnataka for political purposes. The damage to Goa because of this compromise is irreversible. It will cause immeasurable hardship to Goans in the years to come. PM should give justice to Goa on this issue," Chodankar said.
Also read: JD(S) to launch agitation for Mekedatu, Mahadayi
The Opposition in Goa has accused successive ruling the state BJP of colluding with Karnataka and "selling the interests of the state" over the long-standing inter-state dispute over the waters of the Mahadayi river.  
"We urge the Prime Minister when you interact with the people of Goa, announce that Goa will not be a coal hub and Goa will be rid of coal dust," Chodankar said, adding that the projects were not beneficial to Goa or the state's local residents in any manner. 
Modi's virtual interaction has been scheduled after Chief Minister Pramod Sawant claimed that the state had achieved 102 per cent coverage of the first dose of Covid vaccination. Modi is expected to laud the efforts of the health care workers, the state's administrative machinery, local politicians and the members of the public for achieving the feat.   
"Goa is being turned into a coal hub for Modi's friends in Delhi and Gujarat. Goans have no takeaway or benefit from these projects. Coal is already getting seeped into the health of Goans making them sicker," the state Congress president also said. 
The three projects include rail track expansion by the South Western Railway from Castlerock railway station in Karnataka to Tinaighat railway station in Goa, the National Highway - 4 four-laning and drawing of a power line. All three projects run through the protected forest areas in both Goa and Karnataka territories which are a part of the UNESCO-endorsed Western Ghat region.
50,000 trees in and around Mollem, a village located along the Goa-Karnataka border, have been slotted for felling to make way for the three government projects, which have been cleared by the state and the central government's Ministry for Environment and Forests.  
Activists, as well as opposition politicians in Goa, have been demanding a review of the three projects, claiming that they were hurriedly granted permission during the pandemic, without due diligence.
Opponents of the projects had alleged that the doubling tracking of railway tracks and expansion of the National Highway 4 would lead to increased transportation of coal imported to the Mormugao Port Trust in South Goa to steel mills in Karnataka's Bellary region.
Congress has already announced that if the party comes to power in the 2022 state assembly polls, it would scrap the three projects immediately.

TUESDAY, JUNE 29, 2021
Storm brews up in South Goa over SWR’s land acquisition proposal
DHIRAJ HARMALKAR
VASCO: South Goa is bracing up for yet another battle against double tracking with the civil society members including panchayats voicing their opposition to the South Western Railway (SWR) proposal to acquire other areas in Cansaulim, Velsao and Arossim. 
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may be recalled that in a gazette notification, the SWR said it does not require the land of the farmers in Curchorem and Cacora for executing the special railway project of doubling the lines between Hospet-Tinaighat and Vasco-da-Gama.
Instead, it listed a proposal to acquire other pieces of land in Curchorem, Cacora, Davorlim, Velsao, Cansaulim and Arossim for the project, inviting objections within 30 days.
The SWR proposal has upset the civil society members who have now threatened to launch another agitation if people's voices are suppressed and their views bulldozed.
The people said they had high expectations that the State and the Central governments would listen to pleas against the double tracking project. However, the Indian Railways has withdrawn the acquisition of land in Curchorem and Cacora which was undertaken in December last year.
The Civil society members from Goa, who have been fighting tooth and nail against the three linear projects, said they were shocked and annoyed with the proposal.
Abhijeet Prabhudessai of Goyant Kollso Naka (GKN) said, "We totally condemn the proposal to acquire more land. The transportation of coal is not only against the wishes of Goans but also a threat to the very existence of humanity. If our government fails to drop this plan then our future generation will hold it responsible for the mass extinction of various species and endangering the lives of our children. GKN will fight to stop this.”
Olencio Simões of Goencho Ekvott (GE) and Goenchea Ramponkarancho Ekvott (GRE) said, “It is very clear that the National Security Act (NSA) order has been implemented in South Goa during monsoon to undertake such works. Our people including the panchayats are firm on opposing the double tracking. We are against the existing land acquisition done for the purpose of double tracking and the new proposal has been placed recently.” 
“This project is against the interest and wishes of the people and if the government goes ahead, the people will teach it a lesson in the upcoming elections. We will take to the streets if need be," he warned.
Orville Dourado Rodrigues, VACAD founder member said, “Since 2008, the people from the villages in the South Goa’s coastal belt have been protesting the land acquisition for the double tracking. Central and State governments are going ahead with this project neglecting people's views. They must understand that people, panchayats and civil society members will fight tooth and nail. We will come on the streets if need be.” 
Rodrigues accused the government of systematically using its machinery to sabotage the movement and voices of the people against this project. He warned that the people won’t bow down and instead seek legal remedy if required.
“The government has no spine to take a stand and work as per the wishes of the people. Is the government trying to “sell” Goa to the central agencies? Half of Goa's area has come under Central agencies such as MPT, defence forces etc, what more the government wants to do," Swapnesh Sherlekar of Goencho Avaaz Party questioned. 
“This government is totally incompetent. Due to various mega projects much of the land has gone to the Central agencies. How can new land acquisition be allowed when the people have agitated against the existing land acquisition process," Sherlekar asked.
Cansaulim sarpanch Jose Maria Furtado said, “I was taken aback with the new land acquisition in Cansaulim and Velsao areas. The panchayat will support the people and will oppose the double tracking project.”
Expressing similar views, Velsao sarpanch Henrique D'Mello said, “People have agitated, opposed and even took to the streets opposing the double tracking and land acquisition. The panchayat will continue to remain with the villagers come what may.”