People's Democracy

FROM its meeting held at the Muzaffar Ahmad Bhavan in Kolkata late in the evening of June 25, the West Bengal Left Front has announced a statewide stir against the proposed bifurcation of the Eastern Railways. All the constituent political parties of the Left Front and all the Left mass organisations of the state will launch a campaign-movement against the move announced recently by the union railways minister.

In a resolution adopted at the meeting, the Bengal Left Front has dubbed as unscientific and parochial the decision by the railways ministry to further divide the railways network in India into 16 divisions from the nine as at present. Once the state boundaries are fixed as the major criterion for the setting up of railways divisions, the LF resolution notes, the national and unified character of the Indian Railways will be lost.

By carving out the proposed East-central railways division from the Eastern Railways, the Left Front leaders argued, the railways ministry would help provide major obstacles to be set in the path of smooth flow of passenger and goods traffic in a major portion of the eastern region. The headquarters of the new division will be set up at Hajipur in Bihar. Kolkata is the present HQ of the Eastern Railways.

As per the gazette notification released by the BJP-led union government, the proposed East-central division will include the Dhanbad, Danapur, and Mughalsarai sections of the Eastern Railways as well as the Sonpur and Samastipur sections of the North-eastern Railways.

The Left Front has also resolved to felicitate the Left candidate in the presidential election, Dr. (Capt.) Lakshmi Sahgal at a mass convention to be organised at the Kolkata University institute on July 2.

The Left Front has urged upon all its units to expedite the drive towards comprehensive literacy and education especially among pre-teens in the districts, emphasising the importance of mass initiative in this regard.

The Left Front meeting also examined the potentialities of the Information and Technology sector in the state and it was resolved that a final decision towards the formulation of a fresh set of guidelines would be taken after the issues would get discussed at the core committee of the Left Front ministry.

Addressing the media, Left Front chairman, Biman Basu made it clear that the proposed agricultural policy of the Left Front would be based on the agricultural potentiality and agro-productivity of the state. He added to say that discussions were going on in this regard, particularly with reference to a set of recommendations already provided to the state LF government by the noted agro-economist Dr M S Swaminathan.