The minister stated that the railway police would induct fresh personnel to combat rising crime on the railways. A batch of 75 women RPF constables are scheduled to be inducted into the force at CST station tomorrow.

The 12-metre-wide, 99-metre-long Dadar FOB is the longest and widest of its kind in the world, and an application for its entry into the Guinness Book is under consideration. The bridge, constructed by Kvaerner Cementation India Ltd, connects the Central and Western railway sections of Dadar railway station, one of the busiest in India.

All formalities for setting up the long-delayed Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation (MRVC) had been completed, informed Naik.The corporation would be set up `within 15 days of the passing of the railway budget by the Central government and the state budget by the state assembly.' The budget is to be placed before Parliament on April 15.

With the completion of MRVC formalities, the government had met all conditions of the World Bank and was now awaiting word from them for an estimated Rs 4,500 crore loan to kick off the Mumbai Urban Transport Project (MUTP-II), he added.

Naik, who is also minister of state for parliamentary affairs, denied that the Central government faced any danger after the AIADMK withdrew support. ``We passed the Bihar resolution imposing President's rule in that state with 29 extra votes. The AIADMK has withdrawn only its 18 members,'' a confident Naik said. ``Her (Jayalalitha's) unilateral decision to withdraw support has not been appreciated by the people of Tamil Nadu since both the BJP and AIADMK had a pre-poll alliance that projected Vajpayee as Prime Minister.'' The country was unwilling to faceanother poll, he felt.

The BJP would hold discussions with members of smaller parties, he said, adding ominously, ``Even the MPs of smaller parties know how difficult it is to fight and win another election.''