Amravati-Pune bi-weekly train announced; citizens are disappointed as many pending demands have been ignored.
Union railway minister Dinesh Trivedi might have announced 75 new express trains in the railway budget for 2012-13. However, Pune has got only one express train in the budget. As a result, Puneites are disappointed with the budget.
In the railway budget for fiscal 2011-12, the then union railway minister Mamata Banerjee had announced four new trains including Pune-Ahmedabad Duronto Express, Pune-Secunderbad Shatabdi Express, Pune-Nanded weekly express via Latur and Ranchi to Pune via Bilaspur train.
This year, the Puneites expected announcement of a few more new trains but they have got nothing but disappointment. The minister has announced only one express train — Amravati-Pune bi-weekly express via Akola, Purna and Latur. According to railway officials, another new train, the Porbander-Secunderabad weekly express, will also
travel via Pune.
The disappointment of activists and passengers was visible in their reactions to the railway budget. Both the activists and passengers feel that being an IT destination, industrial hub and educational centre, Pune deserved much more in terms of rail
connectivity.
Chandmal Parmar, chairman of railway, road and traffic management committee of Mahratta Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture, said, “Railway passengers in Pune have been left high and dry as they have not got anything from this budget. The minister, while presenting the budget, spoke about many things, but the main things which Puneites were eager to listen was announcement of new trains increasing the city’s connectivity and that was not there. On the brighter side, the ministry’s decision to set up safety authority is forward looking and reassuring.’’
Harsha Shah, chairperson of Railway Pravasi Group, said, “The budget presented by the minister is full of promises but I doubt whether he will be able to deliver. I do not find any announcement which will please railway passengers. The ministry has made a few announcements for Mumbai, but it should be understood that Mumbai does not mean entire Maharashtra.’’
Hemant Tapale, president of Pune-Mumbai Pravasi Sangh, said, “We had a lot of expectations from the budget and we had submitted our demands to the ministry. However, we are disappointed with the budget. Pune has got nothing from this budget. There was an urgent need to increase train connectivity between Pune and Mumbai as nearly 7,500 passengers travel between these two cities every day. However, the railway ministry has not announced any extra train between these two cities which is quite disappointing. We feel that MPs from this region should make extra efforts to push their demands.’’
Manjulata Mehta, ex-member of Zonal Railway Users’ Consultative Committee, said, “This budget has brought nothing but disappointment for the travellers. The ministry has concentrated only on technical matters but they have completely ignored passengers’ needs and aspirations. There is no announcement of any scheme for women
passengers also in this budget.’’
Chinchwad Railway Pravasi Sangh’s
president Gulamnabi Bhaldar told
DNA, “One lakh commuters travel daily by Pune-Lonavala local trains. The Union ministry hiked the fares but has not made any provision for upgradation of facilities and extra trains. For the last 23 years, no new locals have been announced for Pune inspite of increase in the number of travellers commuting between Pune and Lonavla. The first Pune-Lonavla local started in 1978, second in 1982, third in 1985 and fourth in 1987. But after that there has been no announcement of new local trains.’’
However, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has appreciated the railway budget describing it as a bold and pragmatic which meets the needs of the country over the long run.
Chandrajit Banerjee, director general, CII said, “The rail budget is largely in alignment with CII’s pre-budget recommendations and is a good balancing act, given the fund constraints. The five-point agenda outlined in the budget along with focus on bringing down operating ratio through greater efficiency would go a long way in infusing the necessary momentum in rail infrastructure upgradation.’’
The CII hopes that proposed measures would facilitate greater private sector participation in this vital infrastructure sector through improved project implementation, streamlined and time-bound approval processes and favorable terms for reasonable returns on capital and more efficient vendor management as well as equitable sharing of project risks.
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