Rail surcharge hike on Bansal’s mind

Justifying the hike in charges on various counts announced recently, railway minister Pawan Kumar Bansal on Wednesday hinted at further increase in surcharge on bookings and cancellations for balanced development of the country’s largest transporter which has ‘limited resources’. Replying to a debate on the Rail Budget 2013-14 in the Lok Sabha, Bansal also invited investments from corporates to improve amenities at railway stations. Opposition parties, including the BJP, Left, JD(U), Shiv Sena, AIADMK, Trinamool Congress and BJD, walked out accusing Bansal of focussing only on Congress-ruled states and ignoring the others.