Congress to pay for Lalu's fault

Tathya.in, Feb 20, 2009
Bhubaneswar:20/February/2009

When Lalu Prasad is there, Maoists are not far behind.

Lalu Prasad's interim rail budget for the year 2009-10 though had a smooth run in Lok Sabha, it seems to have made Maoists happy.

Lalu had not allowed any new lines in Red Corridors including many parts of Orissa.

Thus the Railway Minister given a "go ahead" to the Red radicals who had been killing people mercilessly and disrupting developmental activities in tribal hinterland.

A major portion of Orissa's Maoist infected districts remain without rail link and the Indian Railway had not effort to cover them.

While the worst affected Malkangiri district did not have a rail link, other interior areas of Kandhamal and Nawarangpur were yet to see a locomotive running through their region.

It is obvious that Red radicals spread their tentacles in a faster rate in places not having road and rail connectivity.

But despite several demands by the Orissa Government, Lalu Prasad lend deaf ears to it.

As if Lalu Prasad had pledged not to allow railways to grow in Orissa even as the East Coast zone contributed a major share in the revenue generation for the railways.

The State Government which had demanded Rs 8.050 crore for development of railways in Orissa from 2000 to 2009, railways had allocated only Rs 4,608.99 crore during the period, official sources said.

Orissa Government's argument that it required massive expansion of rail links in view of the investment proposals and real investment also did not deter Lalu Prasad's determination of keeping the state neglected.

This is despite the fact that the rail route length spread across Orissa was mere 2495 km with an average of 15.03 km per 1000 square km as against the national average of 19 and much less than the average in the contiguous states.

Lanjigarh-Junagarh rail link which was considered as economically viable though started in the year 1993-94, was yet to be completed due to lack of funds released by the railways.


And due to callous attitude of the Railways, Vedanta Aluminium Limited (VAL) is forced to carry it’s alumina from Lanjigarh to Jharsuguda on the road, resulting the entire stretch is damaged.

When this was pointed out to Railway Board Chairman, he said we are funding this rail link properly.

However fact is otherwise.

Though Orissa demanded Rs 35 crore for the Lanjigarh-Junagarh link in 2008-09, the railways sanctioned only Rs 12 crore, three times less than the requirement thus delaying works.

Similar was the fate pf Haridaspur-Paradeep line.

Keeping an eye on the industrial development of Paradeep, the State Government demanded Rs 80 crore in the year 2008-09. But the railways allocated only Rs 20 crore

This was the fate of many new ongoing lines leave apart the new lines.

Koraput-Rayagada link which was considered as a major help to fight against Maoists did not get a paisa from Lalu Prasad.

Other lines like Daitari-Bansapani, Angul-Duburi-Sukinda Road and Talcher-Bimlagarh on going projects had suffered due to Lalu Prasad's lack of interest in Orissa.

While the Congress High Command in Delhi was worried over erosion of its base in Orissa, the reason lies somewhere else.

The tribals who were natural vote bank of Congress had meanwhile turned their faces towards other political parties as the Sonia Gandhi led party had done little help to them and their region.

Tribals continued to remain poor and now they have new problem like Maoist menace.

They blame the Centre, Congress in particular, for pushing them to the ambit of Maoists.

Is Lalu Prasad helping the Congress led UPA government or concreting his own vote base in Bihar?