PORVORIMl: There were heated discussions during question hour on the proposed railway stations on the Konkan Railway route, on the first day of the 9th Assembly Session of the 8th Goa Assembly. Three stations have been proposed at Mayem, Neura and Sarzora. The question was raised during question hour by St Andre MLA Viresh Borkar.
Borkar said that he was not satisfied with the answer of the Transport Minister Mauvin Godinho. He wanted to know if these are passenger stations, junction or just crossing stations.
Godinho told Borkar that these stations were in the plans of the Konkan Railway right from 1998 when the Konkan Railway was planned. They are basically crossing stations, to avoid delays Transport Minister Mauvin Godinho stated. Godinho took pains to explain that about 16 to 20 minutes are wasted at each of the places where the stations have been proposed. A total of one hour is lost in commuting time he stated.
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said that no additional land will be acquired for creating these three stations. He also said that in future there are plans to introduced fast trains between Pernem and Canacona, which will take about 30 minutes of commuting time. People can travel from Canacona to Karmali in 15 minutes and from the station to Panjim in 10 minutes, he claimed.