Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav's failed to please the average Mumbaikar with his interim railway budget.
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Tough Job Ahead: Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav before leaving for Parliament to present his budget yesterday. pic/ap |
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"There are 70 lakh commuters in the city who struggle to even stand in the trains every day. Lalu has rubbed salt on the problems of Mumbai commuters.
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Several announcements were made on the amenities front in the last budget, but that has done nothing to improve services," said Madhu Kotian president of the Mumbai Pravasi Sangh.
The disappointment stems from the fact that there have been no announcements on increasing services on the suburban front, ongoing projects like the DC to AC conversion and also the acquisition of new rakes.
"If they managed to reduce fares for long-distance trains, why didn't they do the same for suburban commuters?
Besides, the railway minister failed to make announcements on any new security measure despite 26/11," lamented Deepak Gandhi, president of the Mumbai Suburban Railway Passengers Association
However, railway officials here say that suburban commuters should not expect too much from the budget, since it is just an interim budget.
"The budgetary allocations will be announced later and there is no need for the minister to make a mention of the ongoing projects. Services have been increased in both Central and Western Railways," said an official.
2% cut in fares
Breaking tradition with an eye on the polls, an across-the-board two per cent cut in fares of ordinary and air conditioned classes has been proposed in the interim budget for 2009-10 involving a sacrifice of Rs 700 crore a year.
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Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav also continued the trend of the past five years by also effecting a reduction of Re 1 in fares costing up to Rs 50 for journey above 10 km in ordinary passenger fares.
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