Madikeri, Jul. 14: Kodagu is the only district in the entire state that does not have a railway connection. The idea of providing a rail line to Kodagu has remained only in the proposal for many decades. There are also objections from many people to the rail line through the district. However, there was a plan to provide a rail connection up to Kushalnagar, the border of the district, which is adjacent to the plains, but so far it has only been heard in the discussion proposal and has not been implemented. At present, even this is just a dream... It has been several years since the railway ticket booking centre, which was started in the district headquarters Madikeri to be convenient for the people of the district, has also been closed.
The railway ticket booking centre was functioning in the municipal building near the old private bus stand in the city.
Prema Cariappa, a resident of the district, was a Rajya Sabha member from 2002 to 2008. During this time, G. Rajendra, the president of the Kodagu District Chamber of Commerce, and his team took an interest in this center and the efforts made by Prema Cariappa were approved by the Railway Department. B.N. Prakash, the general secretary, and Dr. Sannuwanda Kaverappa of Napoklu cooperated.
As per Prema Cariappa's efforts, this counter was opened in Madikeri for a few years and it was useful for arranging advance tickets for those traveling by train from the district to other places. Many people from the district were serving in the Indian Army, which was convenient for army personnel and tourists. Later, workers from the states of North India started coming to the district in large numbers, and this center was useful not only for the workers but also for the farmers of the district to call the workers and send them back.
Closed Center
This center, which was operating smoothly and profitably for about 10 years, was closed during the natural disaster of 2018 and the subsequent Covid, and has not opened its doors yet. 4Fifth Page
The computers and furniture inside this center are still in ruins. This shop in the Municipal Council building remains locked.
Currently, since most of the ticket booking system is online, the Railway Department has not bothered much about this. But the question is how many people are benefiting from this online system. On the one hand, people are struggling due to the poor network system throughout the district, and on the other hand, most people do not have the proper understanding to take advantage of this online system. Especially, workers do not use it much. Earlier, people could easily book tickets and also get information about train traffic through the center staff. But this center has been locked for the last seven or eight years and is of no use.
During the last period, when Pratapsimha was an MP, there were a couple of meetings and discussions with the Railway Department officials in Mysore about restarting this center. However, the doors of the center have not been opened yet. Now, the current MP, Yaduveer Wodeyar, needs to show interest in this.
No matter how advanced the technology is, not all the common people have much knowledge about it. Therefore, it would be beneficial for the people if this old ticket booking center is restarted.
Note:This article is translated by xklsv.com, from shakthidaily.info; the Shakthi Daily is not liable for any errors in translation. If there are any errors in spellings, please mail [email protected]
