Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday urged Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw to extend the Vande Bharat Express running on the Bengaluru-Hubballi-Dharwad route upto Belagavi city, in order to boost the connectivity between Karnataka, Goa and Maharashtra.

In a letter to Vaishnaw, Siddaramaiah said the second Vande Bharat Express in Karnataka "brought a paradigm shift in the connectivity of the region, between Dharwad, Hubballi, and Davangere with Bengaluru".

He noted that Belagavi was a significant vantage point for industrialists, students and tourists.

Calling Belagavi as an 'economically vibrant' district, he said it houses sugar, aluminum and major industries and also a support base for automobile and aerospace industries apart from several small and medium industries.

The CM pointed out that Belagavi was also a tourist destination with a rich cultural and historical background.

"I request you to extend the Bengaluru to Hubballi-Dharwad Vande Bharat train service upto Belagavi city. This will significantly boost the connectivity between the states of Karnataka, Goa and Maharashtra," he said.

Siddaramaiah reminded the railway minister that Karnataka MLC Prakash Hukkeri had also written to him in this regard.

"I would urge you to look into the matter and instruct the officials to do the needful. The spirit of holistic development of the region will be upheld in letter and spirit by this move," the CM said.

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