Mamata’s Bengal Rail Budget
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With an eye on Bengal elections and a target of at least over 200 Assembly seats, the Trinamul supremo and railway minister, Ms Mamata Banerjee, rolled out a series of trains for her home state. Also trying to dent the Red bastion, Ms Banerjee announced a non-stop train from Howrah to Burdwan. This is a belt, Ms Banerjee would try to wrest from the Red brigade.
While the CPI(M) flayed her Budget, Ms Banerjee tried to woo electorates with Express trains named after prominent saints and poets from Bengal Vivek Express (named after Swami Vivekananda) and Kabi Guru Express (named after Rabindranath Tagore) were announced by Ms Banerjee. The railway minister and Trinamul supremo, in her attempt to snatch West Bengal from the Marxists, announced at least 15 new trains for her state.
While the Marxists fumed, Ms Banerjee declared a number of new sanctions for another strong Red bastion-West Midnapore.
During the last Lok Sabha polls, the Trinamul supremo had failed to capture West Midnapore from the Leftists.
She announced trains on the Howrah-Midnapore, Horwrah-Kharagpur routes. In the Maoists dominated territory, Ms Banerjee announced her plan to set up a new rail route from Bhadultala (now named as Jangalmahal) station via Lalgrah to Jhargam.
In a bid to make inroads into the Marxists corridors in the state, Ms Banerjee announced weekly Express trains from Purulia to Viluppuram vias Midnapore and Kharagpur. A new Asansol-Tataanagar Express will also have stoppage at Purulia.
In Hooghly district, she sanctioned a pair of new trains for Tarakaeswar and Haripal, two known Marxist strongholds.
She also announced an Express train from Bolpur, another Left citadel.
A Howrah-Gaya Express has also been given a stoppage at Bolpur, while Digha-Malda two Express is given a stoppage at Rampurhat in the same district. An Express train between Rampurhat and Burdwan would run thrice a week.
To woo the office goers from the Left belts which include North 24-Parganas and Nadia districts, Ms Banerjee announced running of trains from Kirshnagar to BBD bag.
The BBD bag in Kolkata, is the nerve centre of government offices, including Writers Building. She also introduced new Duronto Express from Sealdah to Puri. Vivek Express will cover Howrah-Mangalore, while Kabi Guru express will run between Howrah-Azaimgunj and Howrah Porbandar.
The Rajya Rani Express, announced by Ms Banerjee, will also run between Bankura and Howrah. Other new Express trains announced on Friday will run between Howrah-Secunderabad, Burdwan-Rampurhat, Howrah-Tirupati, Howrah-Mysore Express, Howrah-Vishakhapatnam Express among others.
The Trinamul functionaries feel that Ms Banerjee’s Bengal bonanza “will help Didi in moving into Writers’ Building.”
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