(Mathrubhumi Nagaram dt 28-2-2013)
Thursday, 28 February 2013
Wednesday, 27 February 2013
Budget for Thrissur
(Mathrubhumi dt 27-2-2013)
(Mangalam dt 27-2-2013)
(Madhyamam dt 27-2-2013)
(malayala Manorama dt 27-2-2013)
With trains galore, Bansal makes Thrissur happy
For the state, the Railway Budget might have been a largely forgettable one. However, railway minister Pawan Kumar Bansal’s proposals have brought smiles on passengers from the Thrissur district.
Thrissur will benefit from all the new trains and also from the extension of the Mainline Electrical Multiple Units (MEMU) service. The new Thrissur-Guruvayur passenger train will ensure better connectivity between the district capital and the temple city, and the extended service of the proposed MEMU between Thrissur and Ernakulam to Palakkad will guarantee better train service to Malabar for passengers from Thrissur.
The weekly express trains announced between Lokmanya Tilak Terminus and Kochuveli and another between Visakhapatnam and Kollam will also benefit Thrissur.
“Another train announced between Kacheguda in Andhra Pradesh and Mangalore, which passes through Shoranur Junction will also be beneficial for residents of Thrissur. The weekly Chandigarh-Kochuveli train which already has a stop in Thrissur has been made bi-weekly. Overall, it’s an good budget for Thrissur, when compared to other districts,” said Thrissur Railway Passengers’ Association (TRPA) general secretary P Krishnakumar.
(Times of India dt 27-2-2013)
Tuesday, 26 February 2013
Raw deal for state continues
State transport minister Aryadan Mohammed’s intuition that the state was not likely to gain anything from the railway budget 2013-14 was right.
“Thoroughly disappointing,’’ he said on Tuesday. Other Congress leaders weren’t as daring as Aryadan in acknowledging this. But the fact that the presence of 20 UPA MPs, including eight Union ministers, from Kerala failed to tilt the Bansal balance in the state’s favour was on record.
Connectivity to Mumbai, Bangalore, New Delhi, Kolkata and Chennai was not addressed though a few weekly express trains have been announced.
“No new commitments of doubling the railway lanes were mentioned and there are also no new targets announced to electrify the routes. The Guruvayur-Thirunavaya line also failed to get a mention,” Thrissur Railway Passengers’ Association (TRPA) General Secretary P Krishnakumar told TOI.
The state will not see any new development, other than the pending projects, in gauge conversion. The doubling in Alappuzha route will not be completed in near future.
Kerala had asked for 50 new trains. But it got only two - Punalur-Kollam and Thrissur-Guruvayur. This apart, the Kozhikode - Shornur passenger will run daily. The Ernakulam -Thrissur MEMU, announced in the last budget, has been extended to Shornur. Two new express trains - Kollam - Vishakapatnam weekly and Lokmanya Tilak - Kochuvelli weekly – were granted.
Even though the budget mentions the Palakkad coach factory, Bansal didn’t elaborate on it but for a blanket statement that ``discussions were on with the state government’’.
The budget promises to set up a skill development centre at Kollam, but it doesn’t mention anything about the Medical College in Thiruvananthapuram, that was announced a couple of years back.
(Times of India dt 27-2-2013)
Monday, 25 February 2013
Sunday, 24 February 2013
Monday, 18 February 2013
MEMU
(Mathrubhumi Nagaram dt 18-2-2013)
(Mathrubhumi dt 18-2-2013)
(Malayala Manorama dt 18-2-2013)
(Mangalam dt 18-2-2013)
(Madhyamam dt 18-2-2013)
A1 Status for Thrissur
(Malayala Manorama dt 17-2-2013)
(Mathrubhumi dt 17-2-2013)
(Mangalam dt 17-2-2013)