Mangaluru (TOI): The sale of products made by self-help groups (SHG) on Konkan Railway will be extended across the country, railway minister Suresh Prabhu said on Monday.

The promotion of SHG and their local products will not only create employment but also empower women in the region and across country, the minister said. "We believe that through this venture, small-scale industries can contribute more to the GDP of the country," the minister said. Last November, Prabhu had directed Konkan Railways Corporation to arrange the sale of products of the Konkan range, such as Kokum Sharbet and Amla Sharbet, on trains and at stations across the region.

The minister said traffic in the Konkan railway route is increasing gradually and they are speeding up track-doubling works. "We want to make Konkan Railway as a vehicle for social development. For that we have set up George Fernandes Institute of Tunnel Technology at Goa and Ramakrishna Hegde Institute of Skill Development is coming up at Udupi."

Prabhu said wrongdoers in the railways, be it an officer or a passenger will not be spared. "They (wrongdoers) will be tried according to laws," he said.

J R Lobo MLA and Nalin Kumar Kateel MP have asked Prabhu to set up a railway zonal office in Mysuru and a railway divisional office in Mangaluru, to initiate steps to transform Mangalore Central Station to an international one, to take steps to reduce travel time of passenger trains between Mangaluru and Bangaluru. Prabhu informed that all the demands will be met once a joint venture company in partnership with the Karnataka government will be set up in three months to take up railway projects.

Prabhu's home-coming: Prabhu said it is like home-coming whenever he comes to Mangaluru. "Kudla is my second home. After becoming Union minister, my visits to here have become rare," he added.

The Union minister said most of the people here speak to him in Kannada since he carries a second name 'Prabhu', a surname from coastal Karnataka. "Whenever someone talks to me in Kannada, I just pretend that I know the language."