The railway ministry has issued a clarification on Wednesday addressing confusion surrounding remarks made by railway minister Ashwani Kumar during a press meet at the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) in Chennai last Friday.
The clarification came after Tamil Nadu transport minister SS Sivasankar refuted claims attributed to the railway minister that the state government opposed the Madurai-Tuticorin railway project.
In its statement, the railway ministry explained that the misunderstanding stemmed from the noisy environment of the factory during the Jan 10 press interaction.
According to the ministry, questions from reporters about various railway projects across Tamil Nadu were raised simultaneously. When asked about the Madurai-Tuticorin railway line, the background noise reportedly caused the minister to mishear the question as pertaining to the Dhanushkodi project.
The ministry clarified that the minister’s response was regarding the Dhanushkodi railway line, a project that the Tamil Nadu government had suggested dropping due to land and environmental concerns.
However, these remarks were incorrectly attributed to the Madurai-Tuticorin project, creating confusion, an official release from Southern Railway said on Wednesday.
Reiterating its position, the railway ministry confirmed that there are no land-related issues from the Tamil Nadu government concerning the Madurai Tuticorin railway project.