Minister doesn't envy his neighbour

Union railway minister Laloo Prasad Yadav has just managed to wrong-foot Mamata Banerjee. Ms Banerjee had introduced about a dozen new trains for West Bengal during her stint as Union railway minister. However, most of them are still confined to the Budget papers she presented. Mr Yadav may have announced just one new train for West Bengal in his maiden Railway Budget, but when it comes to long-term development, the minister has given a boost to all ongoing projects, instead of merely playing to the gallery. He has also set a definite time-frame for the projects to be completed. Mr Yadav said during his presentation of the railway budget in Lok Sabha on Tuesday, â€œStates like West Bengal, where there has been a perceived sense of neglect about railway development works, will be adequately taken care of and adequate funds will be made available for the satisfactory progress of ongoing works.â€� Unlike Ms Banerjee, Mr Yadav has actually given a push to railway development projects, instead of just announcing new trains. Mr Yadav has promised his neighbouring state the following: the completion of the new lines between Contai and Digha (Tamluk-Digha section) and between Mahendralal Nagar and Amta (Howrah-Amta section), the gauge conversion of the Samukhtala Road-New Bongaigaon stretch and the Bankura-Sonamukhi stretch of the Bankura-Damodar railway line and the doubling of lines along the Khana-Sainthia route. The railway minister has also proposed to allocate adequate funds for conducting surveys to construct new lines between Balurghat-Hilli, Budge Budge-Pujali, Samsi-Chanchal-Harishchandrapur, Jhargram-Purulia, Bariapur and Mananpur via Kharagpur. Surveys will be undertaken for gauge conversions along the Alubari-Siliguri-via-Galgalia, Krishnanagar-Nabadwipghat and Katwa-Bardhaman routes. The railways will undertake surveys for doubling lines between Shantipur and Kali Narayanpur, Kharagpur and Midnapore via Giri Maidan, Bandel and Katwa, Krishnanagar and Lalgola. During his presentation, Mr Yadav clarified that these projects would be time-bound. The budget document states that the ministry is committed to the completion of the Metro extension project from Tollygunge to Garia and the extension of the cityâ€™s circular railway from Princepghat to Majerhat and Dum-Dum, with the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport also figuring in its plans. Ms Banerjee had announced the introduction of several new trains including the Asansol-New Jalpaiguri Express, Sealdah-NJP, Howrah-Yashwantpur, Howrah-Trivandrum-Nagercoil, Haldia-Asansol, Asansol-Jhajha-Amritsar, Rampurhat-Howrah Intercity, Sealdah-New Delhi Rajdhani, Howrah-Purulia, Shalimar-Bankura, Sealdah-Amritsar Superfast via Patnasahib during her tenure as railway minister. Against this, Mr Yadavâ€™s package only had the West Bengal Sampark Kranti Express, which has been planned to run between Sealdah and New Delhi. He proposes to extend the Amritsar-Asansol Express up to Sealdah and the NJP-Asansol Express up to Alipurduar on one side and Ranchi on the other. The frequencies of a few trains, originating or terminating in the state, have also been increased, including the Delhi-Sealdah Rajdhani Express, the Kanchankanya and the Pune-Howrah Azad Hind Express.

Minister doesn't envy his neighbour

Union railway minister Laloo Prasad Yadav has just managed to wrong-foot Mamata Banerjee. Ms Banerjee had introduced about a dozen new trains for West Bengal during her stint as Union railway minister. However, most of them are still confined to t...

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