Hyderabad: BRS Working President K.T. Rama Rao urged the Centre to establish the Kazipet Railway Division and expedite several pending railway projects in Telangana during a meeting with Union Minister for Railways, Information Technology and Electronics Ashwini Vaishnaw in New Delhi on Tuesday.
KTR also submitted separate representations seeking stronger Central support for Telangana’s Tier-2 information technology ecosystem. He later said the BRS would continue to raise issues related to Telangana’s development irrespective of political considerations.
The BRS leader requested the Centre to create the Kazipet Railway Division as part of the restructuring of South Central Railway. He proposed including the Kazipet–Ballarshah, Peddapalli–Nizamabad, Kazipet–Errupalem, Dornakal–Manuguru, Mothumarri–Vishnupuram and Kazipet–Vangapalli railway sections.
According to KTR, the proposed division would cover nearly 2,000 track kilometres. He said railway employees had extended their support to the proposal.
KTR argued that the division was operationally viable because the Guntur Division functioned with around 900 kilometres, while the Vijayawada and Guntakal divisions each covered nearly 2,200 kilometres.
He also requested the Union Minister to examine the feasibility of creating a Kothagudem Railway Division.
Kazipet Railway Division proposal includes pending rail projects
KTR urged the Centre to speed up construction of the 151-kilometre Manoharabad–Siddipet–Sircilla–Vemulawada–Kothapalli broad gauge railway line. He described the project as a long-standing demand of the people of Telangana.
He noted that the 76-kilometre Manoharabad–Siddipet section had already been completed. However, he said work on the remaining 75 kilometres had slowed after the Congress government assumed office.
According to KTR, Ashwini Vaishnaw informed him that the project had been delayed because the Telangana government had not released its pending contribution of ₹511 crore. The Minister also cited pending acquisition of nearly 96 hectares of land.
KTR said the project’s estimated cost had increased from ₹1,160 crore to nearly ₹2,780 crore. Therefore, he called for immediate intervention to complete the railway line.
He said the project would benefit Sircilla, one of Telangana’s major textile centres, and Vemulawada, home to the Sri Raja Rajeshwara Swamy Temple that attracts lakhs of devotees annually.
KTR also sought inclusion of Sircilla and Vemulawada railway stations under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme. In addition, he requested approval for a rail-cum-road bridge across the Mid Manair Reservoir.
He further sought completion of electrification on the Kothapalli–Manoharabad railway line. Moreover, he proposed a high-level coordination committee comprising South Central Railway and Telangana government officials to monitor the project under the Prime Minister’s PM Gati Shakti initiative.
Kazipet Railway Division demand accompanied by IT proposals
Besides railway issues, KTR submitted another representation seeking Central assistance for Telangana’s Tier-2 IT ecosystem. He expressed concern that IT expansion had slowed during the past two years. He also said occupancy levels in IT Towers had declined and some companies had reduced their operations.
KTR requested the Centre to establish an IndiaAI Centre or IndiaAI Data Lab in Warangal. He also sought approval for an STPI Centre of Entrepreneurship in Karimnagar or Khammam with a focus on artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, semiconductor design and deep technology.
Additionally, he urged the Centre to establish another STPI centre in a Tier-2 city to strengthen Telangana’s technology ecosystem.