Dear friend, I agree that Delhi, the national capital should not be ignored, and it never had been ignored. Local trains have not been developed in Delhi as electrification reached here very late probably around 1980. Where as in Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai the electrification came in around 1920s/1930s, when Delhi was smaller a city than Chennai!. Mum/Kolk/Chen were major population centers, ports and financial centers of the country and were given high importance. After independence the situation changed, the capital was given overriding priority and importance over the other larger cities and financial centers. The trend continues today. Due to tremendous growth, Delhi over took Chennai, Kolkata and now it in process of overtaking Mumbai.
Delhi has got its due by ...
more... means other than local trains. Huge central fund, multiple times any other city of India, has been given to Delhi Roads since decades. Delhi Metro had been given preferential treatment by way of huge and generous central govt. funding which were not given to other Metro Rlys. Important reason for Delhi to grow much faster than any other metro in India is due to much more central govt. funds going into it, than any other city of the country. So high was the priority accorded to Delhi, that it became a subject for one of the poet Mr Abdul Jabbar from Rajasthan who recited it at chhatisgarh during a kavi sammelan in 1980s (before1985). His concern was there are no/poor roads, electricity/ water etc in rest of country and Delhi was getting layer over layer to already good tar roads. His concern was govt is splurging precious resources on the capital and neglecting citizens residing in rest of the country. Main line of the poem, I still remember goes "Garibon ka khoon koi paani nahin hai, Rajdhaani koi maharaani nahin hai"
Mumbai Locals were giving operational surplus to IR, were a miracle as no other suburban system gave profits in the world!! Mumbai local subsidy (in fact the pax. business subsidy to large extent) has been given to IR by Laluji & Mamtaji who refrained from increasing fares in spite of rising input costs due to inflation. They gave this poison to IR, which tasted sweet to Indian public and brought them immense popularity. As a result, increasing non ac fares have become a political taboo which no body want to experiment. Where as Mr. Rrabhu refrain from such politics and is trying to strengthen the IR infrastructure. He is giving medicine to IR, which often taste bitter to public, and hence getting brickbats from a section of public.
Fact is Mumbai has always given more revenue to nation and got back lesser (investment) than other metros like Delhi, Kolkata, etc. Life of avg. Mumbaikars is toughest. I have seen life of Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata. Cannot say about Chennai/Bangalore, which are said to be better and more comfortable places to live in than other metros.
