Fares of spl trains to Velankanni feast hiked, alleges Cong

Panaji, Aug 29 (PTI) Goa Congress has alleged thatRailways have hiked the fares of special trains to ferrypilgrims for the Velankanni feast in Tamil Nadu. "The Union government led by BJP has increased thefares of special trains to ferry the pilgrims to Velankanni.Thousands of people take advantage of this train annually toparticipate in this festival. This move by the BJP-ledgovernment is anti-minority," Goa Congress spokesman TrajanoD’Mello alleged while talking to reporters here today. The special trains for Velankanni would leave onSeptember 3 and 8 in addition to the regular trains. The feast of Our Lady of Velankanni would be held onSeptember 8. D’Mello claimed that the current fare hike is 300 percent, which has made the tickets unaffordable for many poorpeople who would like to visit the shrine. "Rather than showing their anti-minority stand, BJPshould have subsidised the ticket so that everyone can visitthe shrine," he said. He recalled that the special trains were firstintroduced when Luizinho Faleiro was Chief Minister of Goa. "Congress had understood the requirement of havingspecial trains. But BJP is trying to foil the purpose ofhaving special trains by hiking the fare," he said. D’Mello demanded that Railway Minister Suresh Prabhushould immediately intervene and roll back the hike in fares.PTI RPS GK SMJBAS