Exclusive|Dakshina Kannada Leaders Push New Rail Line Through Kodagu Despite Opposition

According to recent reports, Sullia MLA Bhagirathi Murulya and Dakshina Kannada MP Brijesh Chowta submitted a memorandum to Union Minister of State for Railways V. Somanna.

Madikeri/Sullia: Amid strong opposition from environmentalists and several residents of Kodagu district over railway projects in the ecologically sensitive Western Ghats region, elected representatives from neighbouring Dakshina Kannada district have now pushed for a fresh railway connectivity proposal linking Mysuru through parts of Kodagu.

According to recent reports, Sullia MLA Bhagirathi Murulya and Dakshina Kannada MP Brijesh Chowta submitted a memorandum to Union Minister of State for Railways V. Somanna seeking the construction of a new railway line connecting Mysuru via Kaniyoor-Sullia-Napoklu.

According to exclusive details accessed by The Kodagu Express, the proposed railway corridor would begin from Kaniyoor station on the existing Mangaluru-Hassan railway line. Incidentally, Kaniyoor was also proposed earlier as a junction point for the controversial Kaniyoor-Kanhangad railway project.

The new alignment is proposed to pass through Sullia in Dakshina Kannada district and Napoklu in Kodagu before connecting to the proposed Kushalnagar-Mysuru railway line at Kushalnagar, thereby providing direct railway connectivity to Mysuru and other destinations.

Sources said the demand was raised as Sullia taluk, despite being one of the major taluks in Dakshina Kannada district, currently lacks railway connectivity and does not have a railway station. The memorandum reportedly urged the Railway Ministry to consider and sanction the project at the earliest.

However, the proposal is likely to trigger fresh opposition in Kodagu, where several environmental groups, activists and residents have consistently opposed railway projects citing ecological concerns in the fragile Western Ghats landscape.

Environmentalists have argued that railway lines through Kodagu could lead to large-scale tree felling, forest fragmentation, disruption of wildlife corridors and irreversible environmental damage in one of the country’s richest biodiversity hotspots. Activists have also linked unchecked infrastructure expansion in Kodagu to recurring landslides and ecological instability witnessed in recent years.

Citizen groups in Kodagu have previously staged protests against railway proposals, maintaining that the district — which forms a crucial catchment area for the Cauvery river — should be protected from large-scale developmental projects that could threaten forests, water sources and wildlife habitats.

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