J&K farmers’ prosperity on track: LG Manoj Sinha

Srinagar, Sep 15: Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Monday flagged off the first parcel train to Delhi and termed it a lifeline for J&K’s apple growers.

Flagging off the first dedicated parcel train from Budgam to Adarsh Nagar, New Delhi, LG Sinha thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for ushering in a new era of trade and business for apple growers and traders of Kashmir.

“It will significantly reduce transit time and increase income opportunities for thousands of farmers and boost the agricultural economy of the region,” he said.

The LG congratulated the Indian Railways for the dedicated freight train service between Budgam to New Delhi.

“The new freight train service is a big step for the apple growers of J&K to transport their produce to different parts of the country,” he said. “This will provide a faster and more economical transportation mode, strengthen market linkages, and bring improvement in the lives and livelihoods of farmers.”

LG Sinha said that the disruption of movement on national highways, due to topography and heavy rains, causes damage to fruit growers.

“The freight train service starting from today will transport apples and other perishable goods every day,” he said.

The parcel train service (Joint Parcel Product-Rapid Cargo Service) will be operational on all days and is suitable for all parcel commodities.

The eight-parcel-van coach train has a total weight capacity of around 180 tonnes (23 tonnes each coach).

The booking for full parcel vans is available in online mode, while smaller consignments can also be booked through offline mode.

The freight train departing from Budgam at 6:15 am will make a stop at Bari Brahmana Jammu from 3 pm to 4:30 pm, and will arrive at Adarsh Nagar, New Delhi, at 5:30 am the next day.

Minister for Agriculture Production, Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, Cooperative and Election Departments, Javid Ahmad Dar; Divisional Railway Manager, Jammu, Vivek Kumar; Additional Member Railway Board (Marketing and Business Development), Manoj Singh; Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir, Anshul Garg; IGP Kashmir, Vidhi Kumar Birdi; IGP Railways, Vivek Gupta; Deputy Commissioner, Budgam, Bilal Mohiuddin Bhat; SSP Srinagar, G V Sundeep Chakravarthy; senior Divisional Commercial Manager Uchit Singhal, and other senior officials of Railways, civil, and Police administration were also present on the occasion.

Later, talking to reporters, LG Sinha said that the introduction of railway parcel services would be a big leap towards avoiding losses caused to perishable goods due to the closure of the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway.

He said that the highway sometimes gets blocked due to topographical issues and inclement weather conditions, causing losses to perishable goods.

“But the introduction of the parcel train service from Kashmir to New Delhi will give a major boost to the economy,” he said. The LG thanked the railway authorities for starting a daily timetable train carrying horticulture produce to the national capital, bringing relief for fruit growers.

“It will significantly reduce transit time and increase income opportunities for thousands of farmers and boost the agricultural economy of the region,” he said.

LG Sinha said the new freight train service was a big step for the apple growers of J&K to transport their produce to different parts of the country.

He said the parcel train service would be operational on all days and was suitable for all parcel commodities.