NOTHING FOR ANDHRA,NO STOPPING

BETTER TO PESSENGERS,NO DEVELOPMENT
This year’s Railway Budget introduced by Mr Lalu Prasad Yadav on Tuesday was helpful to people and their government had successfully introduced the railway Budget for the fifth time without enhancing fares.
Girls could travel free up to completion of graduation, he said. Aged women, senior citizens, disabled people and rural milk producers will benefit from the rail Budget, he added. They had already sent proposals for the Nadikudi-Srikalahasti railway line in October 2007, but this was not included which was distressing, he rued. The Ongole-Donakonda railway line had also failed to get a place in the rail budget, but they were keen to take it up with public-private participation.
Meanwhile, the Communist Party of India (Marxists) criticised the rail Budget. MPs and the Union ministers from the state had failed to get funds for development of railway lines in the state, said Mr Jala Anjaiah, district secretary of the CPI (M).
The Srikalahasti-Nadikudi line which would serve people of backward Prakasam district had failed to get a place in the railway Budget, he said. Prakasam district people were waiting for the Ongole-Donakonda railway line for the last 50 years but this too was not included from this budget, he rued. The CPI and the Telugu Desam leaders also expressed dissatisfaction with the railway budget and Congress MLAs of the district expressed happiness.
The Railway Budget presented by minister for railways Lalu Prasad Yadav in the Lok Sabha drew flak, not only from leaders of Opposition parties but also from the Congress leaders representing both East and West Godavari districts.
Several proposals like laying of railway lines connecting Kakinada and Pitapuram and Kotipalli and Narasapuram, doubling of certain sections of the railway line, for instance between Narasapuram and Vijayawada, electrification of certain stretches, introduction of a train between Narasapuram and Hyderabad during the day in addition to the existing express train at night and several others have been pending for a long time.
Neither could the Union minister of state for defence M.M. Pallam Raju nor Congress MPs representing both the Godavari districts influence the railway minister to get allocations for taking up the proposed works.
Narasapuram MP Chegondi Harirama Jogaiah said, "The Railway Budget is disappointing with regard to allocations for the proposed works from our region. There is no mention of any allocation for the long pending Kotipalli-Narasapuram railway line and the doubling of the Narasapuram-Vijaywada line in the budget."
The response from Amalapuram MP G.V. Harsha Kumar was on similar lines. The Telugu Desam (TD) took advantage to find fault with union ministers and MPs representing Andhra Pradesh at the Centre as they only get a facelift of Secunderabad railway station and a Garib Rath between Secunderabad and Visakhapatnam.
TD state general secretary Gorantla Butchaiah Choudhary said, "Despite tremendous increase in the volume of passenger traffic between Secunderabad and Visakhapatnam, there were no efforts to ease traffic. Tamil Nadu managed to get maximum benefit. All jobs in the railway department are grabbed by youth from Bihar."
BJP state vice-president Somu Veerraju said, "Ministers and MPs have no say in allocations in the Railway Budget as the railway department is being run on bureaucratic lines. Railway authorities invest more money on non-viable stations like Chagallu, but failed to take up projects that benefit a large section of people. All key decisions are taken by the Railway Board and the role of public representatives is limited. This budget is not up to the mark as far as the state in general is concerned, and the Godavari districts in particular."