Bangalore :The hilly region of Kodagu, Karnataka’s only district still without a rail connection, will finally get one, but not all residents are thrilled at the prospect.
The state’s industrialists welcome the plan, but some locals fear a railway line could attract migrants and development projects to the detriment of the picturesque district, which is part of Coorg, a region with a history, culture and language distinct from the rest of the state. Natives call themselves Kodavas.
“We are not against development for the good of society,” said Pratik Ponnanna, president of Yuva Codava, a youth group that is running an online petition against the railway line. “All we are saying is that instead of spending crores of rupees on the railway line, the government can build multi-speciality hospitals or better roads.”
“We are not a right-wing group against migrants,” he continued. “But we do not want to become like Assam. You can see how over the past few months, the Assamese people have clashed with Nagas and Bengalis. We have migrants in Kodagu too, but we live peacefully with them. Once the railway line comes, we might see more regionalism.”
The line will go from Mysore to Kushalnagar, the last point in the plains, and onwards to Madikeri, Kodagu’s headquarters. The railways have almost finished surveying the first segment and work will begin soon, Indian railway minister DV Sadananda Gowda said in his railway budget in June.
“We do not oppose a railway line in Kushalnagar because that is still in the plains, but we do not want Mysore to be linked to Madikeri,” said Ponnanna.
