Railways has over 1.7 lakh vacancies: Mamata Banerjee

October 21st, 2009 NEW DELHI - Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee will reach Mathura Wednesday night to take stock of the situation after a speeding New Delhi-bound passenger train rammed into a stationary train there, killing 23 people and injuring 20 earlier in the day, railway officials said here. "The minister is reaching Mathura from Kolkata tonight (Wednesday night) to take stock of the wellbeing of injured passengers," the railway spokesperson said.

October 20th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee Wednesday ordered an inquiry into the train collision in Mathura that killed at least 10 people and announced a compensation of Rs.500,000 for the families of the deceased. "I have ordered to set up a high level committee to inquire about the incident.

July 11th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Saturday said the country was awaiting the white paper promised by Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee on the railways' performance in the last five years. Banerjee told parliament July 3 that she would come out with a white paper on the actual performance of the railways in the past five years when Lalu Prasad headed the ministry.

July 10th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Despite the slowdown that has seen job cuts across sectors, the Indian Railways will fill 1.7 lakh vacant posts after reviewing the recruitment process, Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee said Friday. The Railway Recruitment Board (RRB) will review the hiring process and address regional aspirations and problems witnessed during recruitment in Maharashtra, Karnataka and Assam, Banerjee told the Rajya Sabha.

July 9th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee Thursday said her ministry would look at providing infrastructure and land for setting up Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs). "We might even look at building IITs in the future," Banerjee told the Lok Sabha in a discussion on the railway budget.

July 7th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Tuesday asked Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee "not to make Indian Railways an East India Company and alleged that the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government has favoured West Bengal at the cost of many other states in the rail budget. "India is not (West) Bengal.

July 3rd, 2009 NEW DELHI - Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee arrived in parliament house Friday morning to present her ministry's budget for this fiscal, promising to address the demands of the average passenger. "My budget will be of the people, by the people and for the people," Banerjee told reporters before leaving for parliament house to present the railway budget in Lok Sabha, the lower house.

July 3rd, 2009 NEW DELHI - Praising Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee's budget Friday, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said she had done a "very competent job" and had not just ensured that there was no burden on the passengers but also taken care of their safety. Banerjee had done a "very competent job in a short period of time.

July 3rd, 2009 NEW DELHI - Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee Friday proposed several steps, including launch of a premium service for container movement with assured transit time, to improve the freight movement on railways. Presenting her ministry's budget for 2009-10 in the Lok Sabha, Banerjee said besides improving the freight movement of its regular cargo like coal, iron ore, cement, fertilisers and food grain, the railways will take measures to increase the share of new items like automobiles and fly ash.

July 2nd, 2009 NEW DELHI - Amidst much speculation and expectations, Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee Thursday gave final touches to the rail budget, to be presented in parliament Friday. Shifting from the claims of high surplus by her predecessor Lalu Prasad, Banerjee has maintained from the day she assumed charge that her focus would be on improving passenger amenities and rationalisation of services such as Tatkal (instant ticketing) service.

June 14th, 2009 HOWRAH - Known for being the voice of the voiceless, Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday ordered officials to reduce the exorbitant price range of food available on board a new express train. Banerjee, who arrived here to flag off the Kandari Express between Howrah and the tourist resort of Digha in East Midnapore district, expressed annoyance over the price-chart, saying she "didn't agree with it".

June 4th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Union Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee said that Indian Railways' determined efforts will be to keep enhancing passenger amenities and comforts to a higher level, both in trains and on railway stations. In her message to the Railway personnel after assuming the charge of office of the Union Railway Minister, Banerjee urged all the railwaymen to provide 'service with smile'.

April 22nd, 2009 KOLKATA - While billionaire politicians are grabbing headlines, Trinamool Congress party chief Mamata Banerjee Wednesday declared assets worth Rs.4.73 lakh (Rs.473,000). She does not own a car or a house.

April 3rd, 2009 KOLKATA - Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee has said that she will not ride Tata's Nano car because it was "manufactured with the people's blood." "I will not ride the Nano which has been manufactured with the people's blood," Banerjee said in Kolkata. Mamta's party's anti-land acquisition agitation led to the shifting of Tata's Nano manufacturing factory from West Bengal.

March 14th, 2009 KOLKATA - The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Friday fielded a woman candidate against Mamata Banerjee for the Lok Sabha's Kolkata South seat after Trinamool Congress snapped ties with the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) to team up with the Congress in West Bengal. BJP sources here said the party's state Mahila Morcha (women's wing) president Jyotsna Banerjee has been nominated for the prestigious constituency.