Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu today said that many areas in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar are lagging far behind in development as successive Congress governments ignored such states for the last 65 years.
"Congress ignored states like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. This is the reason many areas of the two states are still backward. Our effort is to bring UP and Bihar forward," Prabhu said while flagging off a new train, Sushashan Express, between Balrampur and Gwalior.
He said the works which were not done in the last 65 years were completed by the NDA government in just one-and-a-half years.
The Minister said a bridge on the Ganga river in Bihar would be constructed soon and e-tendering system was being put in place to check corruption.
Prabhu said once cash-strapped railways was now cash-surplus.
The Minister also inaugurated 107-km long broad gauge between Badhni and Gonda.
"We are very much aware about the fact where we have to
improve and we are working hard towards it. So far as the problem of overcrowding is concerned, I have put forward a proposal to the state government to stagger the working hours to iron out the crowd in local trains. And I hope that we can have joint action with state government and come up with some concrete provision to deal with the overcrowding," Prabhu said.
Stating that he has travelled more than 1,500 kms in the last three to four days, Prabhu added that the works which were not done in last 15-20 years cannot be done in only 15-20 days.
"But with the active help of governments concerned, we are thriving hard to conquer upon the ailing issues of the railways, including seeking funds from World Bank and its allies," Prabhu added.
