Railways offering 2.3 lakh jobs

“Candidates can give examinations in their mother tongue and will get jobs according to merit,” Banerjee said.

On West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee’s recent allegations that she takes official responsibilities lightly and is untruthful about jobs,Banerjee retorted “Let CPI(M) give a marksheet on what they have done in 35 years and then I will show what I have done in one year and six months.”

Reiterating that the Railways would not acquire land forcibly,she said,”in Singur,in the name of land acquisition bullets and torture were used on the common people. I took a lesson from there and decided not to acquire land forcibly.”

“I am against any kind of land acquisition in the name of industrialisation and constructing factories,” Trinamool chief said.

She said the first thing she did after becoming the Railway Minister was to create a land bank. “I tried to use the unutilised lands of the Railways which are being used to set up factories.”

On the container and bogie manufacturing factory here,Banerjee said it was the first of its kind in the country.

“The factory will have the capacity of manufacturing 600 containers per year to make it economically viable. We have decided to club it with a bogie manufacturing unit which will have the capacity of producing 1200 bogies per annum.”

Terming this as part of her Kishan-Vision project,Banerjee said,”Every year vegetables worth Rs 35,000 crore perish because we don’t have a preservation system. By building a non-perishable carriage system we will be able to save our precious vegetables.

“If we find this unit economically viable then we have plans to set up more units in Delhi,Nasik and Mecheda primarily,” she said.

Pointing to shortage of bogies,she said,”We have to import bogies. This bogie manufacturing unit will not only help in economic development of Budge Budge,but at the same time create supply of world class LHB coaches which will reduce the shortfall.”

Denying CPI(M) allegations that her inauguration of factories was a political stunt,Banerjee said “so far we have started work of numerous factories,including one thermal power plant at Adra,a Metro coach factory at Noapara in Dum Dum,a workshop at Kanchrapar and one at Kharagpur,two wagon factories Andal and Kulti,a DLK coach factory at Sankrail and two at Dankuni.”

On spending more time in West Bengal than in Delhi being a minister,Banerjee said,”Whether I stay in West Bengal or anywhere else,what is their problem? If one wants to work one needs honesty and the intention to work.”

She also sanctioned extension of the Budge Budge local train till Pujali.