MR demands more resources

Resources required to meet objectives: Railway minister

Fri, Mar 2 2012

Mumbai, March 2

Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi Friday underlined that enormous resources would be required to meet the objectives of safety, development and modernisation of the Indian Railways.

"The Indian Railways are facing a severe resource crunch and are in need of all-round support," Trivedi told reporters here after his meetings with Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan and parliamentarians from the state.
Trivedi also said that safety was high on the agenda of his ministry and admitted that the number of deaths on railway tracks had gone up in recent years.
He said: "There is a need to evolve long-term strategy rather than coming out quick-fix solutions."
Trivedi also called upon the media to play an important role in educating people about railway safety.
He said an expert committee headed by eminent nuclear scientist Dr. Anil Kakodkar had submitted its report and recommended several measures for augmenting safety measures on the Indian Railways system.
Similarly, another expert committee headed by entrepreneur Sam Pitroda has made recommendations for modernisation of the railways. The railways have decided to prioritise the recommendations of the expert committee and implement these in a "mission mode".
Replying to a question about demands for the renaming of stations, Trivedi said the railways were more concerned about providing basic infrastructural facilities at stations.