Leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha M. Mallikarjun Kharge has charged the Railway Ministry with neglecting new projects sanctioned by the United Progressive Alliance government and starving ongoing projects of funds.
Talking to The Hindu here on Saturday, Mr. Kharge said that the priorities of the Railway Ministry were misplaced.
He said that the new railway divisions sanctioned at Udampur in Jammu and Kashmir, Silchar in Assam and Kalaburgi in Karnataka had not been functional yet.
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“For the Union government, development of the railway network is not a priority and they are more focussed on hi-speed trains with the financial help of Japan,” he said.
“What the country needs now is not hi-speed trains at the cost of our economy, but the improvement of the railway infrastructure and strengthening the present railway lines and introducing more trains to reach out to the common people,” he added.
He alleged that ongoing projects, particularly in Karnataka, were languishing for want of adequate funds and that more funds were being provided for ongoing and new projects in Maharashtra, the home State of Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu.
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Mr. Kharge said that the new intercity train from Kalaburagi to Hyderabad announced by the UPA government was withdrawn saying it was uneconomical.
“The timing of the new train was fixed so to ensure that no passenger travelled in the intercity express and giving reasons for the withdrawal….the same train has been operated from Solapur to Miraj now…….I demand that the Gulbarga-Hyderabad inter-city train be restored immediately with changed ideal timing for the passengers to use it fully.”