The 60th national-level Railway Week Award Function-2015 was inaugurated by Railways Minister Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu here on Monday.
Minister of State for Railways Manoj Sinha, Railway Board Chairman A.K.Mital and other senior officials were also present on the occasion.
In all, 151 officers and staff from all zonal railways, including the Railways Ministry were presented awards for their outstanding performance.
In addition, four officers and staff (each in Hindi and English) were declared winners of the essay competition. Six officers and staff were declared winners of the Scrap Disposal of Performance Prize-2015.
For the first time, two awards related to cleanliness were added to the award list as part of the NDA Government's Swaach Bharat Mission. The Station Cleanliness Award was given to Southern Railway and the Train Cleanliness Award was given to Western Railways.
In view of Prime Minister's special emphasis and focus on the development of the North Eastern region, the significance accorded to the development of railway infrastructure in this region was emphasized. This year's Railways National Programme is dedicated to the North Eastern Region and its people.
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Prabhu said that the development of the North Eastern Region is an article of faith for the Central Government, and added that Prime Minister Modi has always placed emphasis on its development.
He further stated that railway connectivity is obviously is an important factor in the development process.
He also rejected allegations that north east candidates aspiring for jobs in the railways were being discriminated against.
He said that in 2014-15, over Rs.5200 crores was provided for railway network expansion in north east region, and for 2015-16, this allocation had been raised to over Rs.5300 crores.
