Title - Just a water plant for Vijayawada division

D Gopi

Vijayawada: The second largest railway junction in the country and second largest railway division in the South Central Railway has not got any priority in the Railway Budget.

The Railway Minister has announced in the budget only a water plant for Vijayawada railway division.

This time, the Budget has given only one new train from Kakinada to Mumbai. It will run only once a week.

Only solace is that new trains, Tirupathi-Bhubaneswar, Secunderabad-Vishakapatnam, Chennai-Howrah and Lucknow-Yashwanthpur express, Vishakapatnam- Kollam biweekly trains will pass through Vijayawada Railway station only.

The Railway Ministry had earlier regularized the Narsapur-Nagarsol and Vishakapatnam Lokamanya Tilak express bi-weekly.

However, the Railway Board had not allocated any funds for projects for which the survey was completed in Vijayawada division.
The other important projects like Vijayawada-Narsapur line doubling and electrification, Guntur-Vijayawada doubling and circular railway project in Vijayawada are also not sanctioned in the budget.

Rail Mazdoor Union general secretary T Srinivas, South Central Railway Mazdoor Union general secretary Ch Shankar Rao and Vijayawada divisional secretary P Swami Charan said that the Railway Budget said the Railway Board had not given any priority to Vijayawada division. The Vijayawada Division general secretary of the SCR Employees Sangh, M Venkata Subbaiah, said the Rail-Neer project would provide employment in the division but criticized the railway budget for not allocating funds for the division. He said that the budget was against the workers.

Kotla manages some sops for Seema region

N Vishwanath

Tirupati: Even though there were many expectations from the people of Tirupati from the railway budget, only a few got materialised.
Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal announced that two weekly express passenger services would be operated between Tirupati and Pondicherry and Tirupati and Bhubhaneswar (via Visakhapatnam).

The frequency of the existing express passenger service running between Tirupati and Coimbatore was increased from three times a week to four times. Mangalore-Kacheguda train was introduced in this budget, which will pass through Renigunta.

One new MEMU (Mian line Electrical Multiple Unit) was introduced in this budget, operating between Chennai and Tirupati. A significant share of pilgrims to Tirumala and Tirupati are from Chennai and other parts of Tamil Nadu state. There are few services to Chennai like Garudadri, Sapthagiri and Dadar-Chennai (from Renigunta).

If we look at benefits to Rayalaseema region, the existing Gooty-Tadicharla line would be electrified during the present financial year. Bansal also said that a new line between Kadapa and Pendlimarri would be completed in the year 2013-14. Part of Rayadurg and Avaludatta sections would also be completed by 2013-14.

In Kurnool district, home turf of Railway Minister for State, Kotla Surya Prakash Reddy, a mid-life rehabilitation workshop (MLR) would come up with the collaboration of the State government.

Vizag dreams derailed again

KMP Patnaik

Visakhapatnam: The Railway Ministry has once again ignored the city of destiny which contributes huge revenue in terms of goods traffic.

Though the ruling party MPs including one minister, local political parties and mass organisaitons have been demanding implementation of several projects in North Andhra, their demands have been ignored by the Railway Minister.

The foremost demand has been separate railway zone after East Coast Railway was formed with Bhubaneswar as its headquarters. The opposition parties had demanded the merger of Waltair division with South Central Railway to lessen the hegemony of Odisha over Andhra divisions.

This was also shot down by the ministry. Besides, the Ministry sanctioned a forged wheel factory at Rae Bareli with the funds of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant. Even the wagon repair shop that had been proposed at Duvvada at a cost of Rs 250 crore was shifted to Kalahandi in the present budget.

Uttarandhra joint action committee convener JT Rama Rao who on several occasions launched relay hunger strikes for separate railway zone said they would gherao the Minister Purendeswari’s residence on Wednesday as a mark of protest.

But the local MP and central minister D Purendeswari and Rajya Sabha member T Subbarami Reddy were all praise for the railway minister for the new trains and the executive lounge. “ “A great injustice has been done to Vizag and the local MPs failed to deliver the goods,’’ said president of Visakhapatnam Air Travellers Association, Ch Ramakotaiah. New trains that will touch Vizag city are: Gandhidham – Visakhapatnam Express (weekly); Bhubaneswar Express (weekly) via Visakhapatnam, Visakhapatnam – Jodhpur Express (weekly) via Titlagarh, Raipur and Visakhapatnam – Kollam Express (weekly). The frequency of Visakhapatnam – Hazoor Saheb Nanded Express was increased from 2 to 3 days and that of Visakhapatnam – Lokmanya Tilak Express from 2 to 7 days a week.

Kazipet gets raw deal

James Edwin

Warangal: It is a raw deal for the people here in the Railway Budget-2013 and it has left the people in the district discontented. Common feeling among the citizens here is that several long-pending demands were not addressed by Union Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal in his budget.

Kazipet railway junction that generates a considerable part of income for South Central Railway (SCR) zone is a crucial connecting point between the north and south railways network in the country. Yet it is being neglected in all the budgets. “It is nothing but deceiving people here. We pinned lot of expectations on this budget but sadly got disappointed by Bansal sab”.

This reflects the inefficacy of the local MPs and Ministers, he said Warangal (West) MLA D Vinay Bhasker, who have been fighting for the cause for the past few years.

Setting up a coach factory here was a long pending demand since 1974 along with establishment of Kazipet railway division but none of the major demands were was addressed by the government.

The coach factory proposed to set up here has been shifted to states like Punjab, Kolkatta, and Raebareli Uttar Pradesh, while the people here shown an empty hand. “It is a prominent railway junction in Telangana region and all the trains that connect various parts of the region pass through the junction. Kazipet contributes lions’ share of the estimated 46.6 percent of income of Secunderabad division generates” the MLA said.
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