Bihar : Train lolly from Lalu

The Telegraph Writes :-

 

GAUTAM SARKAR

Bhagalpur, Dec. 29: Railway minister Lalu Prasad who arrived in Bhagalpur today gifted the region its weekly train to Yashwantpur in Bangalore and announced a railway divisional headquarters here. The minister, however, did not mention a date for the start of the headquarters. Currently, Bhagalpur falls under Malda (Bengal) division of Eastern Railways. Lalu Prasad, who has been on a hectic tour of Jamui and Munger from December 28, arrived in Bhagalpur for the first time since he became the railway minister. Here, he flagged off the Bhagalpur-Yasantpur Express, albeit one-and-a-half-hours behind schedule. "I got late as I was attending inaugural projects. Besides, wherever I go, people come to me with complaints, mainly regarding Nitish Kumar-led government's mismanagement," he said. That was just the beginning of "bash Nitish" agenda that Lalu Prasad followed on that day. Lalu alleged that the Bihar government had failed on every front, especially when it came to the Naxalite menace in the eastern Bihar. "Go to the Kosi region and you get to see what the government has done in the name of flood rehabilitation. And look at the Indian Railways that is really serving the people," he said and later pointed out that he was "fulfilling" "long-awaited" demand made by the people of the region. It was not only the Bihar chief minister, but L.K. Advani, too, who was Lalu's target for the day. However, not many people were moved by the Lalu tirade. "He came here right when the polls are knocking at the door," said a person in the jam-packed Bhagalpur railway platform. Lalu also laid foundation stones for the renovation of Akbarnagar station, a proposed footbridge across platforms in the main station and for a proposed halt at Dhouni and Tikani on the Bhagalpur-Mandarhill sections. He also inaugurated the Abjuganj halt between Sultanganj and Akbarnagar stations of the loop section of the Eastern Railway. Earlier today, he inaugurated the renovated Jamalpur station on Kiul-Bhagalpur loop section falling under Munger and laid foundation stones for the modernisation of the century-old Jamalpur railway workshop and the extension of the pilot training school. He also inaugurated the renovated Bariairpur station by remote from Jamalpur. On December 28 he put the foundation stone for the proposed 137km new track from Lakshmipur to Nawada via Sikendara at Jamui. The new project would cost nearly Rs 620.57 crore and would cover Naxalite-hit Jamui and Nawada districts for the first time. He also inaugurated an Ashokdham halt, under Lakhisarai district and falling under Mankattha-Lakhisarai stations on the Patna-Asansol main section.