Lalu to meet Kerala CM on Sept 10

Karaikudi, Tamil Nadu, Sep 9: Minister of State for Railways R Velu today hoped that the ''doubts and misgivings'' of the Kerala government regarding the formation of Salem Division would be clarified during the meeting between the Railway Minister Lalu Prasad and Kerala Chief Minister V S Achuthananthan to be held tomorrow.Talking to newspersons here, the Minister said the talks between the Railway Minister and Mr Achuthananthan was being held as per the advice of the Prime Minister.

There was no going back on the Salem Division formation as Rs 22 crore had been allocated for the same and the officials had been appointed. The state government's stand was clear and there was no need for the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister to participate in the meeting convened by the Railway Minister, he said.

The Minister assured a straight train from Rameshwaram to Chennai after the work between Karaikudi and Manamadurai would be over by December.

There was a plan to extend the proposed Rameshwaram-Bhubaneshwaram train to Varanasi. The Minister said that 60 per cent work was over in the Karaikudi-Manamadurai sector with the completion of 69 minor bridges (out of 197) and three major bridges (out of five). About 80 per cent work on five railway stations in the sector was also over, he added.

The Minister said the officials for the Salem Division had been posted and other infrastructure also had been created. Referring to the cost of the Karaikudi-Manamadurai Railway gauge conversion project, he said the cost had escalated by Rs five crore and touched Rs 85 crore now, due to hike in cement price. The project had been delayed a bit due to unexpected rains. It would be completed by December, the Minister added.

UNI