TMC slams Centre for failing to build wagon factory

BALURGHAT: The South Dinajpur district Trinamool Congress (TMC) leadership slammed the BJP’s foundation laying ceremony of the second platform and footover bridge at Buniadpur and Gangarampur stations on Sunday as a showdown and an eyewash ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.

The TMC claims that the work of the platform is being magnified instead of the real development work that would have led to the overall development of the district. Subhas Bhawal, district president of the TMC, said that if there was a Railway wagon factory in Buniadpur, there would be employment in the district.

“The economy of the district could see a radical change. However, if there was a wagon factory there in Buniadpur, Mamata Banerjee’s name would be there so the BJP closed that factory,” he said. Incidentally, Mamata Banerjee laid the foundation stone of the wagon factory. When Banerjee was the Railway minister, she approved the Rail wagon factory at Buniadpur. After she became the Chief Minister, Mukul Roy took charge of the Railway Ministry. In 2012, Banerjee and Roy came to Buniadpur and laid the foundation stone of the factory but no progress has been made so far. Allegedly, the Centre has not taken the initiative to build a wagon factory. Due to non-allocation of funds, the future of the wagon factory is in the dark.

Residents claim that at least 50,000 youths would have been employed if the wagon factory was established. Gangarampur BJP MLA Satyendranath Roy said: “Long distance trains will soon start positively from January. Sick Line and Pit Line work is undergoing. Unfortunately, the opponents are not saying all that. The matter of the wagon factory is also in our minds. The claim will be reported to the Centre in due course,” he added.