Only three MPs present for the meeting
Aurangabad, Oct 20:
Railway issues in Marathwada have been lingering for years. It again became clear on Wednesday that the public representatives in Marathwada are indifferent towards railway issues as MPs from Marathwada remained absent from the railway meeting held after two decades in Aurangabad. Only three MPs were present for the meeting.
The meeting was held in the district collector office in the presence of the union minister of state for railways Raosaheb Danve, union minister of state for finance Dr Bhagwat Karad, Parbhani MP Sanjay Jadhav, MP Fouzia Khan and MP Imtiyaz Jaleel. In the beginning, Jadhav lamented that the demand to connect the Nanded division of South Central Railway (SCR) to central railway was not being met. Doubling of 2,527 km of railway tracks in Telangana have been completed. But only 82 km of tracks have been doubled in Nanded division and electrification of 35 km of tracks is done. This is reprehensible, he said.
MP Fouzia Khan demanded that the Nanded division should be merged with the central railway or made a separate zone. The Nanded division has always faced unequal treatment by the SCR. As the incidence of corona decreased, she called for the closure of special trains and the introduction of regular trains. Dr Bhagwat Karad said that Rs 78 crore would be required for the pitline in Chikalthana. He added that the Aurangabad-Chalisgaon route, Aurangabad-Nagar, Beed-Aurangabad railway line should be constructed. SCR general manager Gajanan Mallya, divisional railway manager Upinder Singh and other railway officials were present.
MP Jaleel furious
MP Jaleel pointed out that the doubling and electrification of railway lines in the Nanded division is even less than in Andhra and Telangana. The Aurangabad-Chalisgaon 88 km route project is set aside. If the railway board is going to decide everything, then why did they call us for a meeting, he asked. Jaleel lashed out at railway officials for starting the meeting late and started to leave the meeting along with Fouzia Khan. But the railway officials called them back.