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Time of India
5 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Belagavi-Bengaluru Vande Bharat: Railway min repeats assurances, but no timeline yet
Belagavi: Yet again, railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has assured that the Belagavi–Bengaluru Vande Bharat Express will be launched "at the earliest," without offering a definite timeline, much to the growing frustration of Belagavi residents. The minister repeated his assurance during the visit of Rajya Sabha member Iranna Kadadi, along with Union minister Pralhad Joshi and minister of railways for the state V Somanna, in New Delhi on Thursday, to follow up on the long-pending demand for the train. "The permission was already granted. We are waiting for the availability of coaches. The train will commence operations as soon as they are allocated," Vaishnaw stated, according to Kadadi. However, repeated assurances without concrete action have left citizens disillusioned. On May 6, Union minister Pralhad Joshi officially announced the sanction of a dedicated Vande Bharat Express between Belagavi and Bengaluru after consultations with the railway minister. Since then, MPs including Jagadish Shettar and Iranna Kadadi have made multiple representations to the ministry, but each time the response has remained the same. Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Remember Him? Sit Down Before You See What He Looks Like Now 33 Bridges Undo by Taboola by Taboola In Nov 2023, the Railways successfully conducted a trial run of an 8-coach Vande Bharat train between Dharwad and Belagavi. At the beginning of 2024, officials proposed extending the existing Bengaluru–Dharwad service to Belagavi. In May 2025, the railway ministry announced a dedicated train service instead, which was widely welcomed by the public. Despite the excitement and public celebrations that followed, more than two months have passed since the announcement, and there is still no confirmed date for the launch. In response to mounting public pressure, Belagavi's elected representatives continue to pursue the matter with the railway minister, but there no official guarantee or schedule has been given by the ministry. Meanwhile, Kadadi said the railway minister also assured that the Belagavi–Miraj special train will be converted into a regular passenger service within a month. In a public statement, he added that Vaishnaw also promised to personally visit Ghataprabha railway station following complaints of poor-quality construction work there.
The Hindu
04-07-2025
- Business
- The Hindu
24.85 lakh tonnes of rice distributed to ration card holders in 2024-25 in Karnataka
Karnataka distributed nearly 24.85 lakh tonnes of rice free of cost to ration card holders under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) during the 2024–25 financial year, marking a slight increase from the previous year's figure of 24.80 lakh tonnes, according to data presented at the State Level Consultative Committee (SLCC) (under the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution) meeting held on Friday. The meeting, chaired by Rajya Sabha MP Iranna Kadadi, reviewed the performance of the Food Corporation of India (FCI) in Karnataka and examined State-centre coordination on food procurement and distribution. As per officials, the FCI facilitated the delivery of 24,85,799 tonnes of rice to NFSA beneficiaries, who receive 5 kg of food grain per person per day free of cost. The meeting also highlighted the Central government's interventions in the open market to stabilise food prices, notably the release of 4,60,959 tonnes of rice and 1,05,065 tonnes of wheat through the Open Market Sale Scheme (OMSS). These releases, officials said, were aimed at controlling rising market prices and ensuring affordability for consumers. In addition to NFSA, the PM Nutrition Scheme — which supports mid-day meals in schools — saw the distribution of 1,06,895 tonnes of food grains across Karnataka over the past year. From February 2025 onward, the State government began purchasing approximately 2,42,000 tonnes of rice per month from FCI to support its own food security programs. Within this, 7,811 tonnes of rice were specifically supplied under OMSS for meal provision to students in classes 9 and 10. The officials also said that the State received 1,14,710 tonnes of food grains for distribution to children and mothers through Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS). 'Special allocations were also made to Yadgir and Raichur, two districts in Karnataka designated as aspirational districts by NITI Aayog. We distributed 32 tonnes of rice and 472 tonnes of wheat to support nutrition programs for adolescent girls,' the officials noted. Mr. Kadadi raised concerns over what he described as the Karnataka government's failure to meet procurement targets for essential grains such as ragi, paddy, and jowar under Minimum Support Price (MSP) provisions.
