Link Dahanu and Mumbai: MP

Nam elaborated on his plans to connect Dahanu with rest of Maharashtra even as he expressed strong opposition to the 29-berth international port project cleared by the state government at Wadhavan in Dahanu taluka.

A few minutes after he was declared elected on Tuesday morning, Nam said being close to the commercial capital of the nation Mumbai, Dahanu has attracted migrants from other places in search of jobs in the numerous brick kilns and orchards. This calls for improving infrastructure, according to Nam.

Explaining his stand,he promised to improve telephone services, introduce halts by important outstation trains, ensure constructing of overbridges and also take up the issue of suburban train services upto Dahanu, the first important railway station after Virar junction on the Western Railway.

"We are demanding that the Sayaji Nagari Express be halted at Dahanu as many people travel to Gujarat everyday from Dahanu," he said.

As regards the State Transport (ST) bus services, Nam said he would follow up with the concerned authorities to increase services to and from Dahanu to various places in the state and Gujarat.

The former minister claimed he was instrumental in getting remote hamlets in the taluka connected by constructing roads and also in providing water to almost all the villages his constituency.

Nam attributes his victory to his work in the last 12 years and to his close interaction with the tribals. "My work in the constituency as a Congress party worker and as guardian minister of Thane few years back, hasproved fruitful though I filed my nomination papers at the last minute. I did not get enough time for campaigning," he added. He accused the alliance government of cheating voters for two years by failing to control the prices of essentials like pulses and kerosene. Criticising Wanaga, Nam claimed, "The BJP MP has done nothing for the people of Dahanu. The saffron alliance has failed to fulfill its promise of controlling the prices of pulses and grains after it assumed power. They made matters worse by drastically reducing the usual quota of kerosene per person thus leading to hatred among the tribals," he added.