Dharwad railway station set for an upgrade

DHARWAD: The Dharwad railway station which was renovated in 2011-2012 at a cost of Rs 3 crore will see another round of development if everything goes according to plan. The station is among the 68 stations in the country chosen for renovation. Despite development, the century-old station still lacks certain facilities and the second phase of development works slated to be taken up now are expected to cater to the other needs.
Dharwad MP Pralhad Joshi had been pressurizing the railway ministry to provide more facilities at the station keeping the long-term needs in view. Accordingly, the ministry has sanctioned Rs 40 crore for the station’s development and has already released Rs 10 crore.

The station will have a new terminal building and additional platforms. Escalators and lifts will be installed to enable the movement of passengers from one platform to the other.

Pralhad Joshi told TOI that there is no scope for expansion of platforms on the northern side of the terminal building as space is not available. Any expansion needs to be done only on the southern side towards the goods shed in Attikolla. “I have told railway authorities to plan the work in such a way that the facilities created and the new buildings should not be disturbed even after 25 years. So whatever plan is done, it should be done keeping in view the requirements of the next 25 years,” he said.

The railway authorities have to call for tenders to take up the work soon, Joshi said adding that he had asked officials to take up the work on a war footing and complete them within 18 months.

The railway track separates Kalyan Nagar from the rest of Dharwad and those reaching Malamaddi and other areas have to cross a railway gate which often remains closed. The residents have been demanding the railways to build an over bridge or an underpass since a long time.

Last year, the railway ministry had allocated funds for construction of over bridge/underpass near the Kalyan Nagar railway gate with a rider that the local body or the state government should contribute 50 per cent of the cost.

Claiming credit for the allocation, the BJP MP and other leaders had put up a board near the railway gate giving details of the project but nothing happened after that.

Joshi blamed the Hubballi-Dharwad Municipal Corporation for sleeping over the file seeking 50 per cent contribution towards the project. “The erstwhile commissioner was sitting over the file for a long time saying the HDMC won’t be able to provide funds. He should have sent it to the state government immediately giving his remarks. Only recently the file was sent to the secretary, department of infrastructure development. We have to follow it up,” he said.

What passengers want

Passengers say the station does not have proper bus connectivity want to various localities during early and late hours of the day. Due to this, passengers are forced to contend with overcharging autorickshaws to reach their destinations.

P G Narsapur, a former member of railway station consultative committee, says a city bus terminal at the railway station will help passengers from various localities will have bus connectivity with the railway station. The station has very few porters and trolleys to carry luggage. Often passengers are found dragging their luggage with difficulty. This problem should be addressed, they say.