Gadgil plea to Mamata

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, FEB. 5. Senior Congress leader and former Union Minister, Mr. V.N. Gadgil, has urged the Railway Minister, Ms. Mamata Banerjee, to ensure indigenous manufacture of accident relief cranes, citing the incident at Gaisal, West Bengal, in February last when there was an inordinate delay in rushing cranes which resulted in the loss of many lives.

An adequate number of such cranes should be deployed all over the country, he said in a letter to Ms. Banerjee.

Mr. Gadgil raised several questions on the procurement policy of the Railways regarding heavy duty cranes, which were vital at the time of accidents and derailments. Eighteen years ago, the required number of such cranes was estimated at 80. He wanted to know why the procurement process was stalled for 10 years after orders had been placed for 24 cranes in 1984-85, and why orders had been placed only after the collision at Ferozabad.

When many passenger and goods trains operated at over 100 kmph, he asked why these cranes were allowed to travel at speeds of only 45 to 65 kmph by the RDSO. He wondered why no attempts were made by the Railways to encourage the indigenous manufacture of such cranes.

``It appears that vested interests have successfully stalled plans for indigenous manufacture, knowing fully well that there is none who will make this costly equipment without encouragement from the Railways,'' he observed.

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