Kochi: The Union Railway Ministry has dealt another blow to Kerala by removing Mangaluru from the Palakkad Railway Division. Soon after the Railway Ministry issued the order, BJP leaders in Karnataka began competing to claim credit for the move. BJP leaders, including MPs, have said that the decision was the result of their intervention. Union Minister of State for Railways V Somanna, who is from Karnataka, has also come forward to explain his role in the decision.

The development makes it clear that persistent pressure from BJP leaders in Karnataka was behind the transfer of the Mangaluru region, including Ullal, to the Mysuru Division of South Western Railway.

Somanna said in a statement that when he visited Mangaluru in July 2024, members of the public had brought the demand to his attention and that the steps he subsequently initiated have now become a reality.

“I held discussions with the general managers of Southern Railway and South Western Railway, as well as the chairman and managing director of Konkan Railway. Finding a solution to this long-standing issue was one of my key priorities. As Mangaluru is a crucial economic and port centre of Karnataka, bringing its railway network under a common administrative jurisdiction will improve the business-friendly environment,” Somanna said, thanking Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Since the third NDA government came to power, MPs from Dakshina Kannada, Udupi-Chikkamagaluru and Shivamogga have repeatedly demanded that the issue be given priority. The matter was raised several times with Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and in parliamentary forums.

The Udupi district unit of the BJP has also welcomed the decision to bring the entire Mangaluru railway region under the Mysuru Division. The party said the move fulfils a long-standing demand of people in the coastal region.

For Palakkad and Kerala, which have already lost the proposed coach factory, the loss of Mangaluru is another setback. Palakkad was cut down with the formation of the Salem Division in 2006, and the loss of Mangaluru has now raised questions about the very survival of the division. Railway employees have expressed concern that Palakkad could eventually become merely a division in name, much like the old Mysuru division in Karnataka.

Arguments have already emerged that the Palakkad Division will lose only 18 kilometres of railway track with Mangaluru’s transfer. A similar argument was put forward by a section when the Salem Division was formed.

The distance from Pothanur East to Palakkad is 49 km, while the distance from Palakkad to Ullal, the division’s new boundary, is 351 km. Adding the 58-km Palakkad-Pollachi line and the 66-km Shoranur-Nilambur line would leave the Palakkad Division with only 582.7 route kilometres.

Kerala had earlier demanded a separate railway zone, but the proposal was not considered. With the once-expansive Palakkad Railway Division now being reduced largely to northern Kerala, there are concerns that allocations for development projects could also decline.