Mamata: Dankuni–Surat corridor ‘tabled during my tenure as Rly Min’

Kolkata: After Union Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s Budget speech proposed a new dedicated freight corridor linking Dankuni in West Bengal with Surat in Gujarat, Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee claimed that the project was initiated by her as Railway Minister in 2009.

Mamata reminded that the Dankuni freight corridor was a project she had originally tabled in her own Railway Budget speech, and it has been pending for 15 years. “Now they are talking about three corridors? We have already announced six economic corridors covering the entire state, from Dankuni to Purulia, Bankura, and Cooch Behar,” she asserted.

The Bengal Chief Minister claimed these projects were nothing new and the Centre resorted to “jugglery of words”. “For Bengal, they have given nothing.

They announced three corridors, we have already announced six economic corridors. The freight corridor from Dankuni mentioned in this Budget was actually mentioned by me in the 2009 Railway Budget. There I had mentioned about Dankuni Amritsar which has been pending for more than 15 years,” she claimed.

“What they said about the three corridors is absolutely a garbage of lies. Blatant lies.

It is already in process, and we have started working there,” Mamata added.

She also stated that the BJP-led Centre once again deprived Bengal after knowing fully well that they would not get votes in Bengal in the forthcoming Assembly polls.