Patna: Describing the Indian Railways as
a national asset and a reliable mode of transportation, Bihar
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Tuesday condemned the protesters for
causing damage to the railway properties during agitations.
"What is the fault of the railway authorities or the
trains being damaged or set on fire by the agitators while
agitating on any issue"? he asked.
"It is a serious crime to damage railway properties,"
he said in a stern warning to protesters.
Kumar, a former Railway minister himself, was
referring to the recent incident at Nabi Nagar in Bihar`s
Aurangabad district when protesters agitating against
inadequate compensation for land acquisition for a thermal
power project had damaged a train.
Instead, the public must acknowledge the service being
rendered by the Indian railways and ensure protection of
railway properties and extend cooperation with the railway
authorities in running the train service, he said at a
function where he flagged off the service of two new trains -
53659 Patna-Sasaram passenger (daily) and 12545
Darbhanga-Lokmanya Tilak Karmabhumi express (weekly).
Kumar was effusive in his praise for the Railway
minister Mamata Banerjee and the railway authorities for
operationalizing the two new trains within a year after its
announcement in last year`s budget.
The Chief Minister urged the Railway ministry to
remain benevolent to the needs of Bihar and consider running
more trains keeping in view an ever rising passenger capacity
in the state even as the number of trains has seen significant
increase over the years.
Kumar also put forth his request to Banerjee for
sanctioning a Duranto train from Bihar.
In addition, he advised the railway authorities to
provide better civil amenities in the trains and at the
stations and ensure that the trains run on schedule.
PTI
