Rly. budget may be harsh: PM

By Our Special Correspondent

LUCKNOW JAN. 31. After telling the country here yesterday that it should be ready to bear additional burden to cope with the gigantic task of relief and rehabilitation in the earthquake- ravaged Gujarat, the Prime Minister, Mr. A.B. Vajpayee, today asked the countrymen to be ready for increases in the railway budget in view of the widening gap between income and expenditure.

In the presence of the Railway Minister, Ms. Mamata Banerjee, he said the all-round price escalation had its impact on the Railways. There were demands for expansion and modernisation of the Railways. Several demands were made for political reasons too and the Minister had to cope with them. Many of the proposed projects were not viable and turned to be a burden on the Railways, owing to poor patronage.

Mr. Vajpayee put on record his appreciation of the job being done by Ms. Banerjee. He described her as a ``stormy'' lady who had a deep feeling for the welfare of the deprived and the down- trodden, and this, he said tongue in-check, got reflected in her words and deeds.

Ms. Banerji earlier announced a railway donation of Rs. 15 crores to the Gujarat relief fund. She presented the cheque to Mr. Vajpayee and announced a further donation of six months of her salary.

At a function in the Northern Railway's Sports Stadium here, she said whatever railway project Mr. Vajpayee wanted undertaken in his constituency would be given top priority. Later, the Prime Minister who laid the foundation for four projects said that after the Kargil war, Gujarat was the biggest challenge which confronted the country, within two years. However, there was no reason for despair. The country would cope with the challenge. Aid and assistance were coming in unsolicited from abroad. He said he had travelled by road covering 60 km in the quake-ravaged Gujarat. Ms. Banerjee accompanied him. The devastation was unprecedented. However, the nation had risen as one man, sinking all differences, as was witnessed during the Kargil war. ``This remains our inner strength.''

The projects he laid the foundation for were electrification of the circular railway on the pattern of Delhi and Mumbai - it is scheduled to be completed during the next financial year - and an India Railway Institute of Transport Management. He also inaugurated the busy Lucknow-Kanpur rail route electrification.

The Prime Minister later left for Chennai after a two-day visit to Lucknow.

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