Whenever, I think of Indian railways, several facts that are associated with it like having the largest rail network in the world or of being the largest recruiter of manpower rarely cross my mind. Of course I really feel proud whenever I note them or the history behind the commissioning of the Konkan Railway line, but very rarely does one tend to think that way. I cannot help feeling a sense of frustration when I realize that Indian railways, an organization that can do wonders to the economic growth of the country is being used as a tool by the politicians to enhance the base of voters in their respective states ; this has been true at least since the past 8 years.
The number of train services to the state of Bihar must have shot up to an all time high between the period 2004-2009 when Mr Lalu Prasad Yadav served as the railway minister. I am not fully familiar with the statistics of the period but when the budget was presented for the year 2008-2009, it was proposed to start a total of 65-70 new services to the country out of which nearly 28 trains either originated or passed through the towns and cities of Bihar. The hue and cry raised by various chambers of commerce across the country had one thing in common to say, after watching Mr Yadav's presentation - "This is a Lalu-Velu budget" (Mr Velu was a minister of state for railways in the UPA government between 2004- 2009) as they felt that most of the trains were meant to cater to the needs of Bihar and Tamil Nadu and not India as a whole. As per the statements issued by Mr Yadav year after year, Indian railways was reeling under profits under his regime because of which he has reduced the fares twice or thrice in his tenure. This move by him was dubbed as a gimmick to help the people of his state (Remember the slogan, "Hum hai Bihari, Bina ticket Savari"). Interestingly, Mr Jaffer Sharieff, former railway minister, the man who proposed the unigauge system (broad gauge) for the rail tracks across the country, had expressed several reservations to the claims of Mr Yadav. In his opinion, Mr Yadav could have taken up several other projects that could foster the holistic growth of the country, like dedicated freight corridors between all the major cities, rail links to the North Eastern states or even improved connectivity between Kashmir and the rest of the country, especially the southern region. Introduction of new trains to backward regions of the country is commendable as it spurs their progress and growth ; however, the ministers are not really concerned about that. In a bid to impress their voters, they have neglected several other projects that need to be taken up on a priority basis.
The reckless introduction of new train services to the metro cities has added to the pressure in these regions. As per the below report, the Delhi Division of Northern railway has asked the railway ministry not to introduce more trains to the regions under its jurisdiction as the available infrastructure is inadequate to handle them. Here is a report that was recently published in 'The Economic Times' :
http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2012-02-05/news/31027009_1_new-trains-passenger-rail-budget
In the year 2009, when Ms Mamata Banerjee presented the budget, it was practically the Indian railway budget of West Bengal. Howrah (Kolkata) was linked to every nook and corner of the country. When the talks regarding the formation of the second chapter of UPA government, TMC, under the leadership of Ms Banerjee had consented to offer support only if the portfolio for railways was given to them. With an eye on the assembly elections in the year 2011, Ms Banerjee doled out several railway projects and services to her native state, because of which she won the elections and became the chief minister, thereby succeeding in her ambition. The other aspect of interest that the country witnessed in her regime was her claim about the railways being severely hit by the global recession of 2008 because of which she sent feelers saying that a fare hike needs to be contemplated. Interestingly, this was a claim of a completely opposite nature to that of Mr Yadav, who just an year ago had proclaimed that the railway coffers were full and that he planned to reduce the fares further! (The bigger element of surprise was that the UPA president Mrs Sonia Gandhi and the Prime Minister of India, Dr Manmohan Singh acknowledged both the claims! When the picture was clear, they chose to maintain a tacit silence over the entire issue). However, she chose to defer the decision of fare hike by an year as the elections in West Bengal were not too far off. Once her 'Mission West Bengal' was successful, she allowed her sub-ordinate, Mr Dinesh Trivedi to take over and do the needful for their (party to stay in power in the) state.
Though, New Delhi boasts of the rail bhavan, under the regime of Ms Banerjee, Kolkata was the rail capital of India, as she worked from her home town. As per a report published in 'The Times of India', a sum of nearly 11 crore was spent in moving all the files from the national capital to Kolkata to suit her convenience!
On a personal scale, I believe that Ms Banerjee needs to be complemented more than Mr Yadav for one reason - the introduction of non-stop services (Durontos) between major cities (one of them was essentially Howrah). As per the reports of both 'The Deccan Herald' and 'The Times of India', the Duronto between Yeshwantpur (Bangalore) and Howrah was a roaring success as 99% occupancy was clocked on the very inaugural run from the southern capital to the North Eastern metropolis. The success has been phenomenal with the other services as well like, Howrah-Mumbai, Chennai-New Delhi, Howrah-New Delhi, Bangalore- New Delhi etc. Despite the non-stop services that are truly commendable, the rail infrastructure still seems far from being adequate as the movement of freight, connectivity to the ports, unmanned level crossings, space dearth for the harboring of trains in the metros, encroachments on railway land, anti-collision equipments to prevent accidents and punctuality of the 11,000 odd passenger trains that run across the country on an average everyday, are just some of the major problems that railway department needs to deal with. Hence the need of the hour is a visionary railway minister like Mr Lal Bahadur Shastry who can look beyond petty politics and work sincerely to serve the country its due, through the railways.
The number of train services to the state of Bihar must have shot up to an all time high between the period 2004-2009 when Mr Lalu Prasad Yadav served as the railway minister. I am not fully familiar with the statistics of the period but when the budget was presented for the year 2008-2009, it was proposed to start a total of 65-70 new services to the country out of which nearly 28 trains either originated or passed through the towns and cities of Bihar. The hue and cry raised by various chambers of commerce across the country had one thing in common to say, after watching Mr Yadav's presentation - "This is a Lalu-Velu budget" (Mr Velu was a minister of state for railways in the UPA government between 2004- 2009) as they felt that most of the trains were meant to cater to the needs of Bihar and Tamil Nadu and not India as a whole. As per the statements issued by Mr Yadav year after year, Indian railways was reeling under profits under his regime because of which he has reduced the fares twice or thrice in his tenure. This move by him was dubbed as a gimmick to help the people of his state (Remember the slogan, "Hum hai Bihari, Bina ticket Savari"). Interestingly, Mr Jaffer Sharieff, former railway minister, the man who proposed the unigauge system (broad gauge) for the rail tracks across the country, had expressed several reservations to the claims of Mr Yadav. In his opinion, Mr Yadav could have taken up several other projects that could foster the holistic growth of the country, like dedicated freight corridors between all the major cities, rail links to the North Eastern states or even improved connectivity between Kashmir and the rest of the country, especially the southern region. Introduction of new trains to backward regions of the country is commendable as it spurs their progress and growth ; however, the ministers are not really concerned about that. In a bid to impress their voters, they have neglected several other projects that need to be taken up on a priority basis.
The reckless introduction of new train services to the metro cities has added to the pressure in these regions. As per the below report, the Delhi Division of Northern railway has asked the railway ministry not to introduce more trains to the regions under its jurisdiction as the available infrastructure is inadequate to handle them. Here is a report that was recently published in 'The Economic Times' :
http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2012-02-05/news/31027009_1_new-trains-passenger-rail-budget
In the year 2009, when Ms Mamata Banerjee presented the budget, it was practically the Indian railway budget of West Bengal. Howrah (Kolkata) was linked to every nook and corner of the country. When the talks regarding the formation of the second chapter of UPA government, TMC, under the leadership of Ms Banerjee had consented to offer support only if the portfolio for railways was given to them. With an eye on the assembly elections in the year 2011, Ms Banerjee doled out several railway projects and services to her native state, because of which she won the elections and became the chief minister, thereby succeeding in her ambition. The other aspect of interest that the country witnessed in her regime was her claim about the railways being severely hit by the global recession of 2008 because of which she sent feelers saying that a fare hike needs to be contemplated. Interestingly, this was a claim of a completely opposite nature to that of Mr Yadav, who just an year ago had proclaimed that the railway coffers were full and that he planned to reduce the fares further! (The bigger element of surprise was that the UPA president Mrs Sonia Gandhi and the Prime Minister of India, Dr Manmohan Singh acknowledged both the claims! When the picture was clear, they chose to maintain a tacit silence over the entire issue). However, she chose to defer the decision of fare hike by an year as the elections in West Bengal were not too far off. Once her 'Mission West Bengal' was successful, she allowed her sub-ordinate, Mr Dinesh Trivedi to take over and do the needful for their (party to stay in power in the) state.
Though, New Delhi boasts of the rail bhavan, under the regime of Ms Banerjee, Kolkata was the rail capital of India, as she worked from her home town. As per a report published in 'The Times of India', a sum of nearly 11 crore was spent in moving all the files from the national capital to Kolkata to suit her convenience!
On a personal scale, I believe that Ms Banerjee needs to be complemented more than Mr Yadav for one reason - the introduction of non-stop services (Durontos) between major cities (one of them was essentially Howrah). As per the reports of both 'The Deccan Herald' and 'The Times of India', the Duronto between Yeshwantpur (Bangalore) and Howrah was a roaring success as 99% occupancy was clocked on the very inaugural run from the southern capital to the North Eastern metropolis. The success has been phenomenal with the other services as well like, Howrah-Mumbai, Chennai-New Delhi, Howrah-New Delhi, Bangalore- New Delhi etc. Despite the non-stop services that are truly commendable, the rail infrastructure still seems far from being adequate as the movement of freight, connectivity to the ports, unmanned level crossings, space dearth for the harboring of trains in the metros, encroachments on railway land, anti-collision equipments to prevent accidents and punctuality of the 11,000 odd passenger trains that run across the country on an average everyday, are just some of the major problems that railway department needs to deal with. Hence the need of the hour is a visionary railway minister like Mr Lal Bahadur Shastry who can look beyond petty politics and work sincerely to serve the country its due, through the railways.
I am unable to find the TOI report which points out that rupees 11 crore were spent on moving files for the convenience of Mamata Banerjee. Would it be possible to share the same?
ReplyDeleteThanks.