Rail budget fails to enthuse AP

The railway budget 2012-13 has little prominence for Andhra Pradesh. The people of the State expected more sops for railway projects.

After 17 years, a Congress leader presented the railway budget. But nothing good is done to the State, felt State economists. They felt that the budget made injustice to the State. There were no new projects and funds have not been allocated for the existing projects. There were many expectations this time in the railway budget as a Congress MP from the State Kotla Suryaprakasa Reddy was holding a post as Union Minister of State for Railways. 

It is strongly felt that a coach factory was sanctioned at Kajipet earlier, but the railway Minister Bansal failed to allocate funds for the project. Following are some of the key issues in the railway budget-2013 pertaining to the State. 

• Out of six rail neer bottling plants, one will be set up at Vijayawada
• Visakhapatnam is one among the 7 stations where special arrangements will be made for tourists
• A wagon workshop was proposed at Kurnool railway station
• Skill training centre at Kajipet
• Integrated railway development and training centre at Secunderabad
• New rail between Rayapur and Kachiguda
•  Passenger rail between Chikballapur –Puttaparti
• 22 new rail projects  are Kondapalli and Kothagudem, Chikballapur –Puttaparti, Kambham-Proddutur and Manuguru-Ramagundam
• New railway line between Dornakal-Miryalaguda and Manchiryala-Adilabad
• Doubling of Dharmavaram-Pakala

-Sakshipost