Railways wanted Rs 48b, gets only Rs 1b

As Railways Minister Ghulam Bilour finally put his foot down with the only option left with him to resign, the government released Rs 1 billion against a demand of Rs 48 billion bailout package for Pakistan Railways to keep the trains moving and convince the employees to call off their protests with a promise that they would be paid their salaries.
“President Asif Zardari assured me that the rest of the funds will be released by the Finance Division, which will help in payment of salaries and pensions of railways employees and reviving the entity,” Bilour said.
Addressing a press conference on Tuesday, Bilour requested railways employees protesting on roads and picketing near railway tracks to resume their duties, as railways would start paying their salaries and pensions from today (Wednesday).
He said on instructions by President Zardari, the Finance Division had released Rs 1 billion for the payment of salaries and pensions. “The railways was being ignored for the last few years and despite my continuous demands for release of funds under the bailout package, not even a penny has been given to the railways, leading to the current scenario,” he said.
The minister was confident that after the assurance given by the president, Rs 48 billion would be released under the bailout package. He said Rs 6 billion loaned by commercial banks would exclusively be used for the repair of 96 locomotives, while another 48 units would be repaired through public-private partnership.