Belagavi, sometimes called the second capital of Karnataka, has been uncared for and side-lined by the successive governments, as a result of lack of political curiosity proven by its elected representatives. While the united efforts of the elected representatives from Hubballi and Dharwad, who transcend get together limitations to profit their area, politicians from Belagavi have been engaged in blaming one another for the lack of essential authorities institutions within the district, say residents.

A latest instance of this neglect is the Vande Bharat prepare, which obtained its approval from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-elected representatives and now operates as much as Hubbali-Dharwad. Prime Minister Narendra Modi nearly flagged off two Vande Bharat trains, considered one of which operates between Bengaluru and Dharwad day by day. The prepare’s extension to Belagavi was halted attributable to “technical reasons,” based on BJP MPs Mangala Suresh Angadi and Annasaheb Jolley, from Belagavi and Chikkodi constituencies, respectively. However, they didn’t disclose the precise causes for the prepare’s exclusion.

“But Union minister Pralhad Joshi, after inaugurating the Vande Bharat train to Bengaluru from Dharwad, announced that the service would soon be extended to Belagavi, catching the Belagavi BJP representatives off guard,” a Congress chief identified.

Mahantesh Patil, a businessman who typically journey to industrial cities for his enterprise, criticised the elected representatives describing them as ‘useless’. When issues come to the event, the politician from Hubballi and Dharwad overlook their events and are available collectively to supply extra services to folks. “However, things much differ to our representatives who except in government meeting not face each others. They must learn much from their Hubballi-Dharwad counterparts. Else things go against them in elections to come,” Patil mentioned.

The trains between Belagavi and Bengaluru are persistently overcrowded, and commuters would have welcomed the extension of the Vande Bharat prepare to Belagavi as an alternative of its remaining cease at Dharwad.

The highway distance between Belagavi and Dharwad is 76 km, whereas the rail route covers 122 km. The journey time by highway is roughly 1.15 hours, whereas it takes 3.5 hours by prepare. The Vande Bharat prepare completes the journey in 3 hours. The tremendous specific prepare launched by the late Railway minister of state and Belagavi BJP MP, Suresh Angadi, in 2018, has been operating at full capability even throughout off-seasons. The Rani Channamma specific prepare departs from Belagavi at 6:40 pm and arrives in Bengaluru at 8 am the following day. In comparability, the tremendous specific prepare departs Belagavi at 9 pm and reaches Bengaluru at 7 am, the next day.

Angadi, throughout his tenure, tried to reschedule the arrival time of the Rani Channamma specific prepare to 7 am as an alternative of 8 am. However, he claimed that the time change was averted due to the objections by elected representatives from Hubbali-Dharwad, who most popular to not return house early within the morning, citing stray canine assaults.

The negligence in the direction of Belagavi additionally contains the institution of IIT and IIIT at Dharwad. The district Congress president (rural) Vinay Navalgatti has alleged absence of curiosity by BJP leaders for the institution of those establishments away from Belagavi. “Congress has established the Visvesvarayya Technological University in Belagavi which could have been boosted if IIT, IIIT were established here. Hubbali-Dharwad BJP leaders are utilising the inefficiency of their Belagavi counterparts,” he mentioned.

In distinction, Sanjay Patil, BJP district president, highlighted the inaction of Congress leaders when the Commissionerate places of work of major and secondary schooling had been shifted to Dharwad and the Income Tax Commissionerate was relocated to Hubbali. A school principal from, demanding anonymity, mentioned Belagavi is being termed as second capital only for having Suvarna Vidhan Soudha, whereas folks from the district and different a part of northern area need to go to Hubballi and Dharwad for administrative works.