The railways has set a deadline of 2019 to complete the doubling of railway line between Hospet-Bellary-Tinaighat. Does this mean that the Tinaighat-Vasco sector will also be taken up soon? Not likely. The railways’ plans of extending the double line up to Vasco may be derailed with stiff opposition from affected locals.
The Tinaighat-Vasco railway line is the section of the Bellary-Hospet-Vasco route (407km) doubling project. The doubling of railway tracks is primarily expected to facilitate movement of imported coal from Mormugao port to steel industries and upcoming thermal power plants in Karnataka. The doubling may also increase the number of passenger trains connecting parts of North Karnataka to Goa. The whole idea, however, doesn’t spell any gains for the villages concerned and the sole big beneficiary appears to be MPT.
The project is in the eye of a storm with affected locals stoutly rejecting the doubling of the line as this would mean clearing encroachments, besides acquiring land along the SWR railway route in Mormugao. Vasco, Dabolim, Sancoale, Cansaulim, Majorda, Margao, Chandor, Curchorem and Collem are among the stations on the Goa stretch of the route that are likely to be affected by the SWR's latest project.
The Goa government, after initial hesitation, was rumoured to have agreed to the acquisition of land for doubling of the line following the intervention of Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu. However, the ground realities haven’t changed. The government must take the interest of the villages into consideration before giving the green signal.
