In a break from tradition, Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday took over as Railway minister here instead of Rail Bhavan in Delhi.
In a break from tradition, Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday took over as Railway minister here instead of Rail Bhavan in Delhi and announced special monthly travel passes for people with income below Rs 500.
Stating that the railways is the lifeline of India, Banerjee said "my ministry will provide special monthly travel passes for people in the unorganised sector, especially those coming from villages to the city for work and having a monthly income of less than Rs 500."
She also announced introduction of the Howrah-Digha Kandari Express to mark the birth anniversary of rebel poet Kazi Nazrul Islam.
"My taking charge from Bengal does not mean that my work will be limited to Bengal only. There is a natural disaster here and I can't leave the people," she said referring to cyclone Aila which hit West Bengal on Monday preventing her from reaching the national capital to assume office.
"We will work for the entire country," Banerjee, who is also the Trinamool Congress chief, said in the presence of Railway Board chairman SS Khurana and other senior railway officials.
"Under my supervision, the Railways will take special care for passenger amenities, cleanliness, safety and for freight from the commercial point of view and with a human face," she said.
"We will put Indian Railways on top of the world serving commercial, business, trade and passengers with a human face," Banerjee said, adding the dedicated freight corridor between Howrah and Ludhiana will be completed within a record time.
"It will be beneficial for trade and industry, coal mines, heavy engineering, steel. It will help states like Punjab, Delhi, UP, Bihar and West Bengal from both economic and industrial point of view and in terms of employment generation," she said.
"We are working on the trade corridor. Let us wait for the Railway budget," Banerjee said.
Asserting that her ministry will work for the promotion of industry and tourism alike, the Railway minister said that modernisation of stations and upgradation will have to be completed before the budget for 2009-10 is announced.
Modernisation, she said, is one of the major thrust areas and new technology will be introduced in major stations and yards. "Technical matters will be taken care of by my ministry within a month."
Announcing that all pending railway projects in Jammu and Kashmir will be given special attention, she said "We want to develop all parts of India."
Banerjee said that her ministry will provide special attention to those stranded at Saharanpur and Jalandhar due to ongoing agitation in Punjab and parts of Haryana following the death of Dera leader in Vienna.
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