The railway line from Mysuru to Kodagu inches closer to reality after railway officials confirmed the plan to complete the final location survey for the project by March 2021. In a press briefing on Wednesday, Indian Railway authorities said that the tender for the survey was finalised and that the timeline for the completion of the survey is March next year.
The location survey will be conducted from Mysuru to Kushalnagar in Kodagu. "We will finalise the alignment, bridges to be built and the requirement of the land will be fixed. After the final location survey, a project report will be sent to the Indian Railways," PV Satyanarayana, the engineer involved in the survey told TNM.
The long-pending plan to link Mysuru with Kodagu through a railway line has been on hold after repeated opposition from environmentalists and litigation issues.
Currently, Kodagu district located in the Western Ghats region is not connected by a railway line. Another railway line is planned connecting Mysuru with Thalassery in Kerala which will pass through Kodagu district. In October 2019, the Karnataka High Court had asked the Indian Railways to seek environment clearances before commissioning rail projects in Kodagu.
Environmentalists and citizen groups said that they will oppose the railway project citing the recurring landslides in Kodagu. "We are going to give notices to South Western Railways. We are requesting information on the details of the project particularly on where it will be implemented. Landslides are becoming a recurring feature in Kodagu and this is all the more reason to not disturb the landscape in the hilly areas of the district," Col Muthanna of the Coorg Wildlife Society told TNM.
In the last three years, landslides occurred during the monsoon in Kodagu. While in 2018, landslides occurred in Madikeri and Somwarpet taluks, a major landslide occurred in Thora village in Virajpet taluk of the district in 2019. Earlier this month, a landslide struck Talacauvery in Kodagu.
Railway officials said that after the final location survey for the rail line is completed, the impact on the forest areas will be considered. Col Muthanna however stated that the railway line will disturb elephant corridors in Kodagu.
The project was opposed by environmentalists and citizen groups in Kodagu and several protests were held against the railway line. A fresh survey was conducted and a plan was drawn up to change the rail project from Mysuru to Kushalnagar in 2018.