AP not given fair deal in Rly Budget, says Naidu

New Delhi, Mar 9 (UNI) TDP Parliamentary Party Leader K Yerrannaidu today complained in the Lok Sabha about Andhra Pradesh not having been given adequate share in the Railway Budget and urged Railway Minister Lalu Prasad to do justice to the State.

Not a single out of the 32 new trains announced in the Railway Budget had been given to Andhra Pradesh, he said while participating in a discussion on the Railway Budget. He urged the Railway Minister to allot some new trains to the state respecting the resolution passed by the state assembly.

Mr Naidu said the people of Andhra Pradesh were unhappy for having been ignored in the Railway budget. Projects of line works, electrification and doubling continued to remain pending for ten years even after the survey for them had been done.

Mr Naidu said all the four Railway divisions in Andhra Pradesh were contributing substantial revenue to the Railways and yet the State was being ignored.

He recalled that last year all the MPs from the State had submitted a memorandum of their demands to the Centre, but this time again Andhra Pradesh had not got its due share in the Railway Budget. This was in spite of the fact the Prime Minister had assured the MPs of the state before finalisation of the Budget that no injustice would be done to the state, but the assurance was not fulfilled.

Mr Naidu pointed out that work of the Railways in the State was moving at a snail's pace. Many bridges and culverts were more than 100 years old but while load was being increased for more freight, no care was being taken for safety aspect. He also wanted a number of general compartments not to be reduced.

Minister of State for Railways R Velu interrupted Mr Naidu to clarify that an increase of 49.8 per cent had been in the funds earmarked for Andhra Pradesh in the Railway Budget. He pointed out that Andhra Pradesh will benefit from one out of the 32 new trains introduced in the Budget. He also assured to consider the demands of the State later.

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