Cuddalore (TN): A proposal to use power generated by the windmill units for railway operations in Tamil Nadu was under consideration, Minister of State for Railways R Velu said today.

Talking to reporters at the inaugural function of the newly converted 135-km long broad gauge link between nearby Vridhachalam and Salem at Vridhachalam Junction, he said the National Thermal Power Corporation was supplying power for Railways in Bihar. On the new line, he said the work was completed at a cost of Rs 246 crore.

A total of Rs 682 crore had been allocated to Tamil Nadu this year for gauge conversion projects, he said. Work was in progress on Tirunelveli-Tiruchendur, Vellore-Thiruvannamalai, Podanur-Coimbatore, Tiruvarur-Nagoor, Karaikudi-Manamadurai lines and they would be completed during this fiscal, he added. He also said new passenger and goods train services would be introduced between Mangalore and Cuddalore.

Union Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss, who flagged off the inaugural train to Salem, said Central government projects were being implemented in the state without any problem due to the cooperation of the state government and Chief Minister M Karunanidhi. He said a Rs 400 crore cancer research institute would be set up in Chennai and a medical college would be started at Neyveli in the district.

Source : PTI