At the flag-off ceremony for the Howrah-Digha Kandari Express train from Kolkata to the sea resort, the railway divisional manager was still completing his speech when Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee walked off the dais. He ended abruptly, saying, “Howrah will be a world-class station ... ahem ... Oh no! ... the minister will make the announcement herself.”
Railway officials rushed to get ‘Didi’ back on the dais. The first time her name was announced, she didn’t come on stage, and pointed towards some other dignitaries on the stage. She returned to the dais after pulling up three general managers. While Banerjee was naturally keen to announce the new projects, she was unaware of the fact that the DGM was rehashing old projects. The Howrah modernisation, for instance, has been doing the rounds for around three years.