In a major relief to the farming community growing fruits and vegetables across the country, including in Telangana, the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare has decided to arrange for transport of the perishable produce with the help of railways from the areas of production to the markets in other parts of the country.
The decision was announced during a video conference by Additional Secretary (Cooperation and General Coordination) in the Ministry Abhilaksh Likhi along with Executive Director of the Railway Board Shailendra Sharma with Agriculture secretaries and Horticulture Mission directors of States on Saturday. The video-meet was attended by Secretary (Agriculture) B. Janardhan Reddy and Commissioner (Horticulture) L. Venkatrami Reddy on behalf of Telangana.
The State officials discussed about the logistic support needed for the transport of sweet lime, mango, acid lime, melons, flowers, vegetables and a few other fruits. Use of railway parcel wagons for transporting the perishable agricultural produce between different States was discussed.
The Railway Board has appointed special officers for every zone for the purpose with Chief Commercial Manager (Freight and Parcel Service) of South Central Railway B.S. Christopher as the coordinator for Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Madhya Pradesh. The special parcel wagons would be arranged from Karimnagar, Khammam, Nalgonda and Secunderabad railway stations and Sanathnagar goods shed.
According to the officials, the facility could be availed by farmers, farmer producer organisations (FPOs) and traders for transporting fruits, vegetables and flowers from the places of production. Every supplier would have to book at least 23 tonnes of freight to avail the service by applying for it two days in advance. Besides, they have to arrange both loading and unloading of the freight, including sending it to the destination markets from the railway stations, on their own.
The railway officials stated that transport of the freight from Hyderabad to Delhi would require at least 24 hours and they would charge ₹1.2 lakh for transport of the 23 tonnes of freight from Hyderabad and ₹1.25 lakh for the same tonnage from other places in Telangana. The facility would also be provided to Kolkata, Mumbai, Nagpur and Chennai.
Horticulture and Marketing officials, traders, farmers and FPOs may contact Mr. Christopher on mobile number 970137052 or contact him on email christopherirts@gmail.com for details.
