Title - Industry gives thumbs down to Rail Budget

Ludhiana:
The industry has termed the Rail Budget for 2013-14 as directionless. It fears that the surcharge on freight, as proposed in the Budget, will drive states like Punjab to a corner as these states depend heavily on the Railways for raw material and coal."It is unfortunate that no benefit has been given to Punjab in the latest Railway Budget. Except a few local low-profile trains, no new projects have been envisaged for the state. There are no chances of any improvement in the condition of the Ludhiana railway station too," said Badish Jindal, national president of the Federation of Associations of Small Industries of India.Last year, the freight rate was increased by 18 per cent and again the freight rate has been increased by 5 per cent. This would escalate inflation as the prices of commodities would go up, said Jindal.The average booking waiting list in Punjab is around 20 days. Due to the long waiting list, passengers are forced to book their tickets well in advance, sometimes months before their journey. Under such circumstances, there are chances of cancellation of tickets. However, the increase in the ticket-cancellation charges will hit the passengers hard. The increase in the taktal charges will also hit passengers, said another industrialist Sanjay Arora.

Darshan Dawar, president of the Knitwear Club, said they appreciated the Railway Minister for taking an initative to establish 25 new institutes for skill training and also welcomed the idea of connecting MGNREGA with the Railways to create various jobs for the common man.

"Extra burden has been put on the common man by imposing surcharge, increase in the reservation and cancellation charges of tickets and the tatkal tickets.

The fuel surcharge and freight charges have been increased, but no facility has been mentioned for industrial cities," said Vinod Thapar, chairman of the Knitwear Club.

"The increase in the freight charges to the tune of 5 per cent is very discouraging for the industry. The industry was expecting some concession like a decrease in the freight charges. Cycle and cycle parts manufacturers are a disgruntled lot as they send their products to other states. The prices of cycles will go up and the poor man will not be able to bear this increase," said Gurmeet Singh Kular, president of the United Cycle and Parts Manfacturers Association.

The cycle industry had requested the Railway Minister to start a non-stop Shatabdi from Ludhiana to Delhi, but despite an assurance given by him in this regard, nothing has been done.