Motorists queue up on Mangaluru-Tumakuru NH 73 near Ujire in Dakshina Kannada district on July 19, 2024. Following the closure of Shiradi Ghat (NH 75) and Sampaje Ghat (NH 275), people travelling from Mangaluru to Bengaluru are forced to take the Mangaluru-Tumakuru NH 73 via Charmadi Ghat.
| Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Quickly responding to an SoS by Dakshina Kannada MP Captain Brijesh Chowta to run special trains between Mangaluru and Bengaluru in view of the snapp road connectivity, the South Western Railway on Friday announced special services, three trips in each direction starting Friday, July 19 night.
A notification from the SWR here said Train No. 06547 KSR Bengaluru-Mangaluru Junction Express special leaves KSR Bengaluru at 11 pm on July 19, Friday, to reach Mangaluru Junction at 11.40 am on Saturday via Bengaluru Cantonment, Sir M Visvesvaraya Terminal, Bengaluru, Chikkabanawara and Nelamangala skipping Yeshwantpur. Train No. 06548 Mangaluru Junction-KSR Bengaluru Express Special leaves Mangaluru Junction at 1.40 pm on Saturday, July 20, to reach at 11.15 pm the same day.
Motorists struggling on Charmadi Ghat on Mangaluru-Tumakuru NH73 while heading to Bengaluru on July 19, 2024.
| Video Credit:
Special Arrangement
Train No. 06549 Yeshwantpur-Mangaluru Junction Express Special leaves Yeshwantpur at 12.30 am on July 21 and 22 (intervening midnights of Saturday-Sunday and Sunday-Monday) to reach Mangaluru Junction at 11.40 am the same day. Train No. 06550 Mangaluru Junction-Yeshwantpur Express Special leaves Mangaluru Junction at 1.40 pm on July 21 and 22 to reach Yeshwantpur at 11.15 pm the same day via Nelamangala.
The trains would have six general second class, six second sleeper class, two 3-tier AC, two 2-tier AC and two luggage-cum-brake van coaches. They have commercial halts at Chikkabanavara, Nelamangala, Channapatna, Hassan, Sakleshpur, Subrahmanya Road, Kabakaputtur and Bantwal.
MP’s letter
Dakshina Kannada MP Captain Brijesh Chowta on Friday morning wrote a letter to the SWR seeking its immediate intervention in the form of operating special trains to help people who were affected by the closure of Shiradi and Sampaje Ghats on the Mangaluru-Bengaluru sector. He also made multiple telephone calls to ministers concerned and officials to ensure that the Zone comes out with an action plan.
He drew the attention of SWR to landslides affecting Mangaluru-Bengaluru National Highway 75 near Sakleshpur and Mani-Mysuru National Highway 275 near Karthoji between Sampaje and Madikeri. While the Hassan district administration has banned vehicular traffic through NH 75, the Kodagu district administration has banned vehicular movement between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. on NH 275 till July 22.
With private and KSRTC buses cancelling operations between the coast and Bengaluru, thousands of people are stranded, the MP wrote.
Eom