Harijan Ahmedabad—Sunday February 17 1946

Reopening all the lines that were closed and the restoration of all the trains stopped during the period of war and further expansion of services to meet the needs of the public. [...] we request you to support us arid give a lead in the matter to the country and force the Railway Board to accept the same and save thousands of Railwaymen and others from unemployment misery and poverty.” If the workers are to be retrenched in order to make room as alleged in the letter for ex-soldiers it is in my opinion doubly wrong. [...] It was the European member from Madras I think who once in the course of a debate in the Central Assembly compared the "speed and steadiness" of the Grand Trunk Express to that of a "drunken caterpillar in the final stages of inebriety". [...] In the 1931 Satyagraha struggle it again bore the brunt of Government's repression when there was a mass flight of the inhabitants of the villages in Tamluk before the route marches of the military characterized by such features as forcible salutation of the regimental colours plunder and worse. [...] During our stay the place was alive with crowds of visitors but ordinarily it is a peaceful spot with plenty of inspiration to be had from the natural beauty of the wooded surroundings and the view of hills in the distance.