Union Budget allocates only Rs 1,000 each for various rail projects in Bengal

Kolkata: It may sound unbelievable but only Rs 1,000 each has been allocated for several railway projects in Bengal in the Union Budget for 2020-21 fiscal.

Only Rs 1,000 has been allocated for the Digha – Jaleshwar, Kaliagunj-Buniadpur projects.

Interestingly, Prime Minister Narendra Modi who claims himself to be an ardent follower of Swami Vivekananda and even spent the night of January 11 at Belur Math to take part in Swamiji's birth anniversary on January 12 has allocated only Rs 1,000 for the extension of the railway line connecting Tarakeshwar with Jairambati, the birthplace of Ma Sarada. Thousands of devotees visit Tarakeshwar and Jairambati every year and so when Mamata Banerjee was the Railway minister, she had proposed the extension of the line connecting the two pilgrim spots.

Similarly, the projects to extend the railway connectivity between Arambag-Irfala, Irfala-Ghatal, Arambag-Champadanga, Bishnupur-Uparsole, Mayanapur-Kamarpukur will get Rs 1,000.

For up-gradation of Burdwan-Katwa railway line and Aluabari Road-Siliguri broad gauge line only Rs 1,000 has been allocated. For the construction of a bridge on river Bhagirathi and construction of new a railway track in the Azimgunj-Jiagunj sector in Murshidabad only Rs 1,000 has been allocated.

To set up a new double-line system connecting Ghutiari Sharif with Canning will get Rs 1,000. Similarly, for the double line system connecting New Alipore with Akra and Budge Budge Pujali Rs 1,000 has been allocated.

It is interesting to note that only Rs 1 lakh has been allocated for the coach factory at Kanchrapara. Another Rs 5 lakh has been allocated for the railway workshop at Kanchrapara.

Experts said from the budgetary allocation it was quite evident that the Centre was not going to push the proposals which had been taken during the tenure of Mamata Banerjee as the Union Railway minister.

Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay, Trinamool Congress leader, said: "The Budget proposals reflect the political vendetta of BJP. It is an anti-people's Budget. How could the Centre allocate only Rs 1,000 for a Railway project? The quantum of money for the railway projects indicates that the Centre is going to scrap them. BJP has insulted the people of the area," he said.