Kerala CM urges PM to halt Mangaluru railway transfer

Kerala Chief Minister V D Satheesan has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to put on hold the Railway Board's decision to transfer the Mangaluru area, including Ullal, from Palakkad Division of Southern Railway to Mysuru Division of South Western Railway. The transfer is scheduled from October 1. Satheesan sought reconsideration after consultations with the state. Malabar MPs have announced a protest and hunger strike at Palakkad Divisional Railway Office on August 26. The BJP has rejected the allegations as politically motivated.

In a separate letter, Dakshina Kannada MP Capt Brijesh Chowta urged Karnataka Chief Minister DK Shivakumar to formally support the notification. Chowta said the move addresses a long-standing demand of coastal Karnataka and enables integrated planning of the Mangaluru-Hassan-Mysuru corridor. He noted that Mysuru Division already administers the Hassan-Mangaluru section. Chowta asked Shivakumar to convey Karnataka's support to the PM and Railway Minister, arguing that silence would disappoint the people of coastal Karnataka.