Amid the farmers' agitation on Delhi border against the agricultural laws, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will flag off 100th Kisan Rail from Sangola in Maharashtra to Shalimar in West Bengal, via video conferencing today at 4:30 pm.
Railway Minister Piyush Goyal and Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar will also be present on the occasion. This train will run from Sangola in Maharashtra to Shalimar in West Bengal.
According to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), the multi-commodity train service will carry vegetables such as cauliflower, capsicum, cabbage, drumsticks, chillies, onion, as well as fruits like grapes, oranges, pomegranate, banana, custard apple etc. Loading and unloading of perishable commodities will be permitted at all en route stoppages with no bar on size of the consignment. The Government of India has extended a subsidy of 50 per cent on transportation of fruits and vegetables.
The first Kisan Rail was introduced from Devlali to Danapur on August 7 this year, which was extended up to Muzaffarpur. Its frequency was also increased from weekly to three days a week.
Kisan Rail is currently being operated on nine routes by Indian Railways and till now 27,000 tonnes of agricultural products have been transported. The central government has increased the subsidy of 50 percent on the transport of fruits and vegetables.
It may be recalled the government had announced to run Kisan Rail in this year's budget. The service has been a "game-changer" in ensuring "fast transportation of agriculture produce" across the nation. It provides a "seamless" supply chain of perishable produce, as per the PMO.
In another development, Modi will inaugurate also India's first-ever driverless train operations on the Delhi Metro's Magenta Line (Janakpuri West-Botanical Garden) on Monday at 11 am via video conferencing. He will launch the fully operational National Common Mobility Card (NCMC) services on the Airport Express Line as well in the same event.