Bommai rejects Pinarayi Vijayan's rail project proposals

Bengaluru: Expressing his government's stance against Kerala's proposal for railway projects, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said on Sunday that it would not support any development work in ecologically sensitive areas or wildlife sanctuaries, NDTV reported.

After a meeting with Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan, Bommai told reporters that Vijayan had come to Karnataka and held bilateral talks with him as per the Southern Region Council meeting. Vijayan requested his cooperation for Kerala's various railway projects, including the Kanhangad-Kaniyur rail route, along with highway projects.

The Kanhangad-Kaniyur rail line will have 40km in Kerala and 31 in Karnataka. But it is not beneficial for his state, Bommai claimed, adding that it is proposed to pass through the rich biodiversity and ecologically sensitive areas of the Western Ghats. Therefore, he informed Vijayan that his government wished not to go forward with the project.

When Vijayan tabled the Tellicherry-Mysore railway line route again, Bommai strictly stated that its route passed through Bandipur and Nagarhole National Parks and thus could not be entertained. Though the Kerala CM proposed an underground passage, Bommai said that construction works for the same would damage the environment.

After that, Vijayan requested four buses to service at night via the Bandipur National Highway. However, Bommai rejected that proposal, too, he informed.