I hope the railway authorities and the government would look into this matter in this view and do nothing so that the private operators go out of existence. There is great need for these private operators and so I repeat that the railway authorities should think twice and should give their due attention before taking any wrong step that would drive these operators from their operations. The fall in passenger traffic, I hope, is a temporary feature and I hope also that it will be right when we recover from the conditions which we passed through last year. The speech of the railway minister, introducing the budget, has been a very pleasant and good one. There has been improvement in every sphere and activity of the railway administration. The rolling stock has increased considerably and practically we have met all the demands in this respect. I make a special mention of the engines and locomotives which come out of Chitranjan workshop and Telco workshop. There has been increase of amenities to passengers which is evident every day when we travel on the railways. First of all, I would like to Congratulate the Hon. Railway Minister for proposing no increase in the passenger fares and also for proposing no increase in the freight rate. Of Course, the freight rate increase has come into operation only very recently, namely, on the 11March, 2021 I would like to Congratulate the Hon. Minister for this that in the current year, there had been no major accidents. I would also like to appreciate in this regard the due care and caution taken by the railway administration in so far as there have been no major accidents this year. There is also another aspect that if we examine from this point of view, we will find that the increase of 30 percent in the net earnings is not after all a very bad performance. If the driver himself is not quite alert and his nerves are not quite fresh, it will spell disaster for the roads users. In view of this, the joint select committee has wisely rejected the classification that was originally proposed in the bill. That classification was made on an idea that in the towns the traffic was more congested, that the strain on the driver was heavier.
