Though the State has given many Railway Ministers to the Union government, Minister of State for Railways Suresh C. Angadi, who passed away on Wednesday, is credited with fast-tracking many projects related to the State within a short period.
He was the one who pushed for long-pending projects such as Bengaluru-Karwar Express, another overnight Bengaluru-Belagavi express, Dharwad-Ambewadi passenger, and opening of Kottur-Harihar line for passenger traffic, said railway activist K.N. Krishna Prasad from Bengaluru.
Equally, he gave push for infrastructure development, said Yogendra Swamy from Mysuru Grahakara Parishat. Besides getting the Dharwad-Belagavi new line via Kittur sanctioned, Mr. Angadi hastened the development work of Byappanahalli as the third coaching terminal for Bengaluru. While speeding up line-doubling work across the State, he got a new coaching depot for Shivamogga, Mr. Swamy recalled.
Rohith Jain from SWRPC, Davangere, recalled his thrust for the development of railway infrastructure in and around Davangere Railway Station and the city. He got work sanctioned for three new platforms and the third entry at Hubballi Railway Station.
Rail activists had pinned lots of hopes on Mr. Angadi to get several pending works done, including sanctioning of suburban rail for Bengaluru, opening of the new railway division in Kalaburagi, and bringing Mangaluru Railway Region under South Western Railway.
