Previous govts responsible for delay in freight corridor project work: Modi

Lucknow: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday accused previous governments of delaying the dedicated freight corridor project and ignoring modernisation of railways, and said politics should be kept away from infrastructure development.

Inaugurating the New Bhaupur-New Khurja section of the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor (EDFC) via video conferencing, he said the "roar" of Bharat and 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat' (self-reliant India) were clearly heard as the first freight train operated on the Khurja-Bhaupur freight section, and asserted that the corridor will also help farmers transport their harvest on time.

The prime minister also deprecated the tendency of people to target infrastructure during protests and demonstrations, saying infrastructure does not belong to any leader, political party or government but is that of the country and its citizens.

Stressing that this project was the living example of the work culture of the government at the helm before 2014, Modi said the freight project was given permission in 2006 but it was only made on papers and files as the then government lacked the "seriousness and urgency" with which it had to take it up with the states.

Till 2014 not a single km track of the project was laid and the funds sanctioned could not be spent properly. After 2014 ,it was restarted and officials asked to take it forward and by then the budget had gone up by 11 times, he noted.

The prime minister said on coming to power, he personally monitored the project and held a dialogue with stakeholders and got new technology as a result of which about 1,100-km work would be completed in the next few months.

"Imagine not a single km in eight years and 1,100 km in 6 to 7 years," he said. The 351-km section has been built at a cost of Rs 5,750 crore. The EDFC is 1,840-km-long and extends from Ludhiana in Punjab to Kolkata in West Bengal.

Modi also inaugurated the EDFC's operation centre at Allahabad and flagged off the first 1.5-km-long goods trains. The prime minister said political apathy not just hampered the freight corridor project but also had a bearing on the entire railways system.

Earlier the focus was on increasing number of trains for political benefit in elections but not on the tracks on which the trains were run as there was no investment on it, he said.

There was no seriousness towards modernisation of the rail network, trains were being run on slow speed and the entire network was full of dangerous unmanned crossings, he said. "We changed this work culture and thinking after 2014 and ended the separate Railway budget, invested in rail tracks, ended unmanned crossings, focussed on broadening and electrification of the network", he said. In the past few years, reforms have been carried out at all levels and can be seen. Be it cleanliness, better food and other facilities, the changes can be seen, he said.

Past experience tell us that politics should be kept away from infrastructure as it is the path to development of the nation and not means of five years of politics, he said, adding that if political parties need to compete, they should compete on quality, speed, scale of infrastructure.

Modi also slammed the tendency of targeting infrastructure during demonstrations.

I also want to stress on another mentality which we often see during protests and demonstrations.This mentality is of harming infrastructure of the country and its property. We should remember that this infrastructure does not belong to any leader, political party or government but is that of the country and its citizens, he said.

The sweat and money of the poor and middle class taxpayers is harmed by this. While discharging our democratic rights we should also remember our national duty, he stressed. The prime minister noted that how the railways has helped in times of crisis, especially during the Coronavirus pandemic. It brought labourers back to their homes, ferried foodgrains and medicines to the corners of the country and it will always be remembered for it, he said. Meanwhile, hailing the inauguration of the New Bhaupur-New Khurja section of the Eastern DFC in Uttar Pradesh, Railway Minister Piyush Goyal Tuesday said it is not just a freight corridor but a "Dedicated For Country scheme" that will carry goods as well as development.