New Delhi: The Ministry of Railways is all set to begin the services of India's first Kisan Rail (Kisan Special Parcel Train) from Friday, August 7, aiming to transport agriculture related materials between Devlali, Maharashtra, to Bihar's Danapur.
The train will be flagged off by Union Minister of Railways, Piyush Goyal and Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, via video conferencing, at 11 am.
It will depart from Devlali at 11 am and will reach Danapur at 6:45 pm, on Saturday, while covering a distance of 1,519 km in 31.45 hours, said a Railway official.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman proposed to start 'Kisan Rail' through the public-private-partnership (PPP) mode for a cold supply chain to transport perishable goods in her budget speech.
In the statement released by the Railway Ministry, it has been stated, "As announced in the current year's Budget to start 'Kisan Rail' for providing a seamless supply chain of perishable produce, the Ministry of Railways is introducing the first Kisan Rail from Devlali to Danapur on August 7 at 11 am on a weekly basis."
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It further added, "Over Central Railway, Bhusawal Division is primarily an Agro based division. Nasik and surrounding region produces huge quantity of fresh vegetables, fruits, flowers, other perishables, onions and other agro products. These perishables are mainly transported to areas around Patna, Allahabad, Katni, Satna etc."
This train has been provided scheduled halts at Nasik road, Manmad, Jalgaon, Bhusaval, Burhanpur, Khandwa, Itarsi, Jabalpur, Satna, Katni, Manikpur, Prayagraj Chheoki, Pt. Deen Dayal Upadhyay Nagar and Buxar.
The move of Indian Railways aims to help doubling the farmers income. Therefore, aggressive marketing is being done with local farmers, loaders, APMC and individuals. The statement of Ministry added, "Demand is being aggregated and it is expected that the train will be patronised well and will be a great help to farmers, as the freight of this train will be charged at 'P' scale."
