CPM sabotaging Railways: Didi

“Railways are a sensitive mechanism and a vital one. The CPM is engaging in preplanned disruptions,” said Banerjee at her Kalighat residence before leaving for Delhi.

Interestingly,just a day ago,inaugurating two new trains from Sealdah,the Trinamool chief had asked the CPM to join hands for developing the Railways and not create unnecessary hassles in its functioning. The CPM leaders,meanwhile,retorted by saying that Banerjee is putting pressure on the Railways by adding a number of new trains without developing the infrastructure,which makes trains accident-prone.

“She is running the Railways as her personal property. Instead of developing existing infrastructure,she is adding a number of new trains. This is just a public gimmick,” said Basudeb Acharya,CPM parliamentarian and former chairperson of Parliament standing committee on Railways. “We are not disrupting the rail services. She is aware that she is making the Railways unsafe by putting extra pressure. Therefore,she is blaming us,” said Acharya.

Interestingly,local residents under the leadership of CPI legislator from Midnapore,Prabodh Panda,on Sunday protested for four hours on the railway tracks near Narayangarh,leading to disruption of the rail services.

Under the banner of Narayangarh Byabsayi Samity,over 200 people blocked the tracks. The locals demanded that Express trains such as Santragachi-Puri Jagannath Express and Bhubaneswar Fast Passenger,should stop at Narayangarh. They also demanded better amenities for the Narayangarh station.

Due to the blockade,a number of trains including Guwahati Express and Baghajatin Express remained stranded for hours. “The locals are demanding better facilities for a long time now,but the administration did not pay any heed,” said Panda. The blockade was lifted after ADRM of Howrah,Dinesh Kumar,assured the protestors that their demands will be looked into.