Agartala, July 15 (TIWN): Firebrand former minister and MP Jitendra Chaudhury today strongly opposed the Union Railway Budget proposal and said that the budget was high in rhetoric but low in substance. “The rail budget has been a naked attempt to pave space to the private players through the PPP and FDI route”, he said.

Raising question on the outlook of the union government towards developing railway infrastructure in the NE, Chaudhury said that six state capitals of NE States are yet to be connected by rail heads. He made a scathing attack on the central government’s NE development policy and said, “The engine and boggies operating from Agartala to Lumding route are of obsolete having minimum passenger amenities. Then how this region can prosper?” “Could we expect our country shall prosper and integrate by this pace of development and faulty planning?” he quipped.

Former MP and ex Chief Minister of Tripura Dasaratha Deb raised the demand of extended rail connectivity to Tripura in the Parliament in 1952. The state had barely 130 km railway track construction since then, with 2 km railway track extension per year.

MP Chaudhury today further said that while the union railway budget spoke of upcoming bullet trains and private freight corridors, it blatantly ignored the question of safety standard.

“The budget didn’t speak a single word to fill up the vacancies of more than three lakhs post, which are mostly meant for the safety standards of the railway system”, he said in his speech.

The MP proposed a number of issues to the House for consideration including earliest completion of the BG conversion work in Lumding-Agartala segment by scraping the recent idea of the Railway Ministry to halt works between Silchar-Agartala section in the first phase, expedite the railway track laying project from Agartala to Sabroom by removing all hurdles, including meagre funding and statutory approvals of MoEF, a time-bound plan for connecting all state capitals of the NE by rail heads. Chaudhury demanded timely completion of the Agartala-Akhaura rail project and sought immediate dialogue from the Government of India with Bangladesh to connect Tripura and the NE with Chittagong sea port for the mutual benefit of both nations.

The MP strongly spoke against proposals of railway fare hike and rise in the freight charges. He strongly opposed the proposed design for privatising the Railways and said that the plan would ruin the Indian economy and national security.