Mamata Banerjee at Nandigram on Wednesday. Picture by Bishwarup Dutta

Nandigram, March 14: Mamata Banerjee today promised not to allow an upward revision of train fares, using the Nandigram stage to spell out clearly her opposition to the hike proposed by Dinesh Trivedi in the railway budget.

“We did not know that the fares were being raised. We are in favour of ma, mati, manush. We are not in favour of fare hikes. I am giving you my word that we will not accept a hike in fares. We will not allow it for the common people,” the chief minister announced at the “martyrs’ day” rally to mark the fifth anniversary of the deaths of 14 anti-land acquisition agitators in police firing in Nandigram.

Mamata’s assurance was greeted with loud cheers from the several thousand people gathered at the Nandigram Sitananda College grounds.

Many in the crowd had been discussing the rail budget since the afternoon and most of them were displeased with the passenger fare hike.

“This is not expected of a Trinamul minister at the Centre. He (Trivedi) is Didi’s soldier. He should be standing by Didi’s cause — that of not inconveniencing the common man with price hikes of any sort to the extent possible,” said Prakash Manna, a Nandigram resident.

Manna and several others in the gathering wore a triumphant look after Mamata’s assurance. “This is what we expect from our Didi. We are proud of her,” Santosh Das Adhikari said.

The excitement over the chief minister’s promise of ensuring a rollback of the proposed fare hike, which came at the end of the 90-minute programme that began at 4.10pm, overshadowed the enthusiasm over the promises of development made by Mamata.

Mamata announced that March 14 would be celebrated every year by the state government — not just by Trinamul — as Krishak Divas (farmers’ day). “Every year on March 14, I will come to Nandigram. We will celebrate Krishak Divas here.”

Besides announcing the formation of a health district in East Midnapore (where Nandigram is located), the chief minister laid the foundation stone of a super-specialty hospital that would offer “best healthcare facilities, like Vellore and Chennai”.

She also laid the foundation stone of a kisan mandi (farmers’ market) in Nandigram. “What Nandigram thinks today, others think tomorrow,” Mamata said.

She distributed from the chief minister’s relief fund Rs 3 lakh each to the next of kin of 24 Nandigram residents missing since the CPM’s armed recapture in 2007.