Hubballi-Ankola railway line gets a fresh push from Centre.

With the Union Government deciding to develop Belikeri port near Karwar, the demand for laying a new railway line between Hubballi and Ankola to connect the North Karnataka region with the coastal belt has further gained ground.

Karnataka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), which has been battling for the Hubballi-Ankola line, has requested the state government to clear the hurdles in implementing this decades old project.

KCCI president Ramesh Patil said after getting nod from the National Green Tribunal, the project has got a new lease of life and now onus is on the state government to take it forward. The project is necessary for the economic growth of North Karnataka and would be profitable for the Railways too.

To give a push for infrastructure development, the Centre has taken up capacity addition of ports and developing new ports all across the costal belt. During his recent visit to the city, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways and Shipping Nitin Gadkari had assured of sanctioning Rs. 10,000 crore project to develop Belikeri port, Patil said.

Different kinds of ore, steel, foodgrains and other products of the region are transported in large quantities from the port. But its actual potential could not be exploited in the absence of connectivity to the nearby port, he said.

Patil said the Hubballi-Ankola rail line and Belikeri port development project should be taken up together, for which the state government and SWR should sit together and resolve all pending issues related to forest land.

THE NEW INDIAN EXPRESS