The Kisan Rail, a special train carrying 250 tonnes of mango grown in the Kolar region of Karnataka, reached New Delhi’s Adarsh Nagar railway station on June 21. Kisan Rail Services is an initiative to help farmers to benefit from the swift transport of fruits, vegetables and other perishable agricultural produce by connecting production centres to markets across India. The Indian Railways started the service in 2020.
Considering the COVID-19 pandemic protocols, the train was symbolically flagged off from Doddanatha Halt in Kolar, June 19. Kolar MP S Muniswamy, Chintamani MLA M Krishna Reddy, and Divisional Railway Manager Ashok Kumar Verma were in attendance, said South Western Railway in an official statement. As per the schedule mentioned, the special train reached Delhi in 40 hours. This is reportedly the first Kisan Rail train service from Karnataka.
Ashok Kumar Verma, Divisional Railway Manager, Bengaluru Division, addressed the media and stated that the transport of farm produce by train through Kisan Rail was cheaper and faster in comparison to transportation via road. “The road transport cost is about Rs 7-8 per kilogram, while (with subsidy applied) the transport cost per kg by Kisan Rail is just Rs 2.82,” he said. South Western Railway aims to run at least one such train every two to three days.
Kisan Rail brings Farm to ️Fork Revolution
— Dr Sudhakar K (@mla_sudhakar) June 20, 2021
A new market opens up for Karnataka's Mango farmers as the First Kisan Special Rail carrying 250 tonnes of Mangoes gets flagged off from Chintamani, Karnataka to Adarsh Nagar, New Delhi.@narendramodi @BSYBJP@PiyushGoyal @nstomar pic.twitter.com/GLbvpDADYJ
Kolar MP S Muniswamy said that this scheme by the Ministry of Railways will benefit farmers, particularly fruits and vegetable farmers, considering the difficult time of pandemic-induced lockdown. Additionally, he urged the Farm Producers Organisations (FPOs) to come forward and utilise the services of Kisan Rail trains. The transportation of these mangoes by Kisan Rail is granted a subsidy of 50% on the tariff levied by the Ministry of Food Processing and Industries.
Kolar is reportedly known to be the biggest producer of mangoes in Asia, and grows mangoes across an estimated land of 1,44,000 acres.