"Is Union Minister of State Murlidhar Mohol, who ignored demands to increase intra-state train services and instead launched a Pune-Jabalpur train service, for which there was minimal demand, an MP representing Pune or Jabalpur?" This question was posed on Monday by Mohan Joshi, Senior Vice President of the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee.
"We are not opposed to the Pune-Jabalpur special train service. However, what is the BJP government's insistence on launching a train service for Jabalpur while completely disregarding the demands of the people of Pune and Maharashtra? Whose political agenda are they attempting to serve?" Joshi asked.
"The terminals for trains operating within Maharashtra are being shifted to Hadapsar, while trains bound for North India continue to be dispatched from Pune Station. This discriminatory treatment is shocking. For years, passengers from Pune travelling to regions like Kolhapur and Mumbai have boarded their trains from Pune Station; forcing them to travel all the way to Hadapsar for these journeys now is an unnecessary and troublesome ordeal," Joshi further stated.
"The people of Maharashtra have been demanding the introduction of more trains on high-traffic routes such as Pune-Mumbai, Pune-Nashik, and Pune-Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. However, the Railway Department continues to ignore this demand. For years, the residents of Pune have been calling for improvements in the city's railway services. The Pune-Lonavala local train service remains disrupted, and the demand for its improvement has been pending for a long time. Furthermore, the people of Pune harbour fears regarding safety and security at the railway station. Passengers frequently complain about unhygienic conditions at the station and the lack of access to clean drinking water," Joshi noted.
"Be it the Metro or the Railways, the BJP government has been consistently meting out injustice to the people of Pune for the past 12 years," he concluded.
