BELAGAVI
Mourning the untimely death of Union Minister of State for Railways Suresh Angadi, the South Western Railways (SWR) recalled that the union minister had nurtured a dream to make Dudhsagar an international tourism spot by pushing for adequate rail connectivity.
At a condolence meeting in the SWR headquarters in Hubli, SWR GM Ajay Kumar Singh paid rich tributes to the departed union minister, describing him as a self-made man who came from a humble background and achieved great success in whatever field he chose.
In his condolence speech, Singh termed Angadi’s death as a great loss to SWR.
“Indian railways have taken a giant leap during the 16-month period of Angadiji and even during the Covid crisis, he continued working relentlessly for the overall development of railways and people. The wheels of railways kept moving to ensure supplies were not affected during the pandemic.”
“During his tenure, many new trains including the Vasco-Belagavi passenger, Belagavi- Bengaluru train and many other trains were introduced. He always interacted with Karnataka and Goa governments and tried for a consensus whenever there was a need to implement the new projects, including the Hospet-Vasco double-tracking,” recalled Ajay Kumar Singh, highlighting various achievements of SWR after late Angadi took over as the MoS for Railways.
SWR spokesperson E Vijaya said late Angadi believed that Dudhsagar has great tourist potential. He always used to call it as the Niagara Falls of India, which had not achieved its full tourism potential.
“He had suggested reopening a halt station at Dudhsagar which used to function during the meter gauge period, but had to be closed for technical reasons after conversion to broad gauge.”
“He followed up the issue and after completion of necessary works and fulfilling the compliances, the Dudhsagar halt station was opened by him fully providing stoppage to passenger trains running in that section,” Vijaya added.
Condolence messages from leaders of all walks of life and from across political, religious and business circles have continued to pour in, as people have mourned the demise of Angadi.
Flags were hoisted at half-mast, while public and other functions were cancelled to mourn the demise of the leader.
