Mamata Banerjee condemns Naxal violence; says Railways hit hard

Condemning Maoist violence, railway minister Mamata Banerjee today said the PSU had incurred Rs250 crore loss due to their activities which also forced the suspension of night running of trains in areas which have strong presence of the ultras.

"What is going on by throwing bombs, removing clips and blowing away trains killing innocent people," she said at a function after flagging off four new EMU trains at Majherhat station in the southern suburbs.

Banerjee said night running of trains on Kharagpur-Adra and Kharagpur-Tatanagar sections of South-Eastern Railway has been suspended since the Jnaneswari Express derailment on May 28.

However, the minister said it is possible to ply four trains in the sectors during night hours if accompanied by pilot cars.
 
"Even if trains are run, they (Maoists) have been killing people, removing clips on tracks and blowing away trains," Banerjee said while appealing to the ultras not to do so as "rail is the lifeline of the nation."

"If such a lifeline is snapped, progress will be stalled," she pointed out.
    
Referring to criticism that Railway's revenue had fallen, Banerjee said "if there are destructive activities, income will definitely drop."

Referring to the recent hike of petroleums products, the minister said the Railways would have to bear an additional burden of Rs 450 crore on account of this.