Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala has urged the Railway Ministry and the Centre to withdraw the proposal to bifurcate the Palakkad railway division and bring Mangaluru under the Mysuru division.

Mr. Chennithala said the Palakkad division ranked among the top two divisions in safety, punctuality and cleanliness. He said its record in train punctuality also does not justify the proposed bifurcation.

He alleged that the move was intended to reduce the importance of the Palakkad division rather than serve an administrative purpose.