New Delhi, Feb 4 Union Minister for Food, Public Distribution and Consumer Affairs Pralhad Joshi met Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw in New Delhi on Wednesday, during which he requested the construction of a high-speed rail corridor between Bengaluru and Pune.
Union Minister Joshi stated that the Railway Minister responded positively to the proposal.
"Soon after the Union government announced a total of seven high-speed rail corridors across the country in the recent Union Budget, Karnataka has now received positive indications of another high-speed rail corridor," Joshi stated.
"Following the initiative, deliberations have begun on establishing a new high-speed rail corridor between Bengaluru and Pune. Union Minister Vaishnaw has responded positively to the proposal," he said.
Joshi explained to the Railway Minister that the Bengaluru–Pune high-speed rail corridor would enable overall development across large parts of Karnataka.
The corridor would particularly benefit Central and North Karnataka. Districts such as Belagavi, Hubballi, Haveri, Davanagere, Chitradurga and Tumakuru would gain significantly.
In addition, the corridor would facilitate faster travel and connectivity from Pune to six or seven districts of Karnataka, he underlined.
Given these advantages, Joshi urged the Railway Minister to take steps towards establishing the new high-speed rail corridor. The Railway Minister, in turn, responded positively to the request and assured support.
Referring to the announcement of two high-speed railway projects to Bengaluru–Hyderabad–Bengaluru and Chennai–Bengaluru, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said these projects would be of little benefit to Karnataka as they do not cover long distances within the state.
"If the Centre really wanted to help Karnataka, it should have announced Bengaluru–Mumbai and Bengaluru–Mangaluru high-speed rail projects," he added.
Notably, Karnataka Large and Medium Industries Minister M.B. Patil said on Sunday that while the Union Budget's announcement for developing high-speed rail corridors between Bengaluru-Hyderabad and Bengaluru-Chennai is welcome, it offers limited benefit.
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