Why no service between M'luru and Subramanya query tourists

Mangaluru: Railway activists and tourists have questioned why the South Western Railway has stopped the service between Mangaluru Central and Subramanya (Nettana) in Sullia Taluk. It would not have mattered if the only connection was between the two cities. But considering the importance of Subramanya -one of the temple towns in Karnataka, it does matter why the Railways have stopped the service. The Subramanya temple is one of the top temples in South India and gets over 370 lakh pilgrims in a typical year. After the Covid pandemic subsided, the number of tourists visiting the temple town from all over south India and Maharashtra has increased severalfold.

"The Mangaluru-Subramanya Road station was built to its full capacity keeping in view the traffic it would attract due to the movement of tourists and passengers on this segment. "Despite the fact that many thousands of passengers and tourists have petitioned the railways to restart the Mangaluru-Subramanya Road schedule, the officials have turned a deaf ear to their petitions," says Oliver D'Souza, executive secretary of the Mumbai based 'Railway Yatri Sangha'.

The Sangha has also pointed out that the people of Dakshina Kannada particularly in Puttur and Sullia, have sacrificed their lands to lay the railway line as early as 1979 for meter gauge and later in 1997 for conversion into Broad Gauge. "Their hopes were that the railway line would bring more prosperity to the region and connectivity would reach a new level, assisting students, farmers, tourists, pilgrims, and a wide range of other travellers between the two cities," says Oliver D'Souza.

Subramanya temple earns over Rs. 240 crore per annum, which makes it the richest temple in Karnataka, surpassing the income earned by many bigger temples than it. The Yatri Sangha hopes that the newly nominated Rajya Sabha MP Dr Veerendra Heggade, who is also the Dharmadhikari of Shri Kshetra Dharmasthala, will use his influence to motivate the railways to resume the passenger services between Mangaluru and Subramanya.