The South Central Railway had commenced the operation of Kisan Rail in the beginning of 2021. The first rail departed from Nagarsol on January 5. Now, in just 126 days, 150 rounds have been completed. The 150th rail departed from Nagarsol on May 10, carrying 246 tonnes of onions, to Malda Town of West Bengal.
One of the attributes to the sheer success of Kisan Rail is the constant demand of these trains from the day they commenced operations. So far, about 47,957 tonnes of agricultural produce has been transported by these rails from Nagarsol.
The commodities that these trains carry include onions, grapes, tomatoes, potatoes, oranges, bananas, carrots, custard apples, capsicum, watermelon, and other fruits and vegetables. These commodities have been transported to a slew of places like Malda Town in West Bengal, Adarsh Nagar in New Delhi, Agartala, Guwahati, Fatuha, and New Jalpaiguri among others.
About Kisan Rail
The objective of starting Kisan Rail is to provide safe, secure, economical, and faster mode of transportation for agricultural produce for farmers and traders.
Farmers and traders who transport their produce through Kisan Rail receive 50% concession. This concession is offered by the Union Ministry of Food Processing Industries under the “Operation Greens – TOP to Total” scheme for transportation of agricultural produce through Kisan Rail.
The feat of operating 150 days in just 126 days has been appreciated by the General Manager of South Central Railway, Gajanan Maliya.
The first Kisan Rail of India
The first Kisan Rail in India was flagged off from Deolali in Maharashtra to Danapur in Bihar on August 8, 2020.
The objective of starting Kisan Rail is to help farmers transport their perishable products to inter-state markets quickly so that they can be sold in the best condition. The first Kisan Rail was inaugurated by Union Agriculture Minister for Agriculture & Farmers Welfare Narendra Singh Tomar through video conferencing due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
Kisan Rail of the first route from Deolali to Danapur runs weekly. It departs Deolali at 11 am every Friday and reaches Danapur at 6:45 p the next day. Then, the train on its return journey departs from Danapur at noon every Saturday and reaches Deolali at 7:45 pm the next day.
Till now, the Indian Railways are operating Kisan Rail on 18 routes.
