Puttur : Karnataka will have to pay its share to the Railways if projects are to be executed. Every other State is paying and Karnataka cannot be an exception, Railway Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda has said.

Mr. Gowda was in the district on Sunday to participate in religious programmes at Puttur and visit his mother at Devaragunda in Sullia taluk.

There is a proposal to introduce RoRo (Roll-on Roll-off) service between Mangalore and Hassan by the railways during the period the Shiradi Ghat stretch of national highway remains closed for repairs and improvements.

This will address the problems caused by the inability of trucks to transport goods to and fro because of the road closure. “The deputy commissioner of Dakshina Kannada district has been instructed to immediately submit a proposal on these lines,” he exposed.

He said that he received a letter from Chief Minister Siddaramaiah that the State government could not afford to pay its share for railway projects. “The State Budget has increased from Rs. 34,000 crore to Rs. 1.32 lakh crore in five years. The State government should proportionately increase its allocation to railways,” he told presspersons at Puttur.

He urged Mr. Siddaramaiah not to “play politics” with the matter. At Sullia, Mr. Gowda told presspersons that the survey for the Kanjangad–Kaniyoor railway line and the commissioning of the Mangalore–Bangalore express train (to be named Kudla express) will be done “soon”.

“I will hold a meeting with officials every 15 days to ensure that the schemes and projects announced in the budget are implemented as soon as possible,” he said.