Indian Railways has transported around 7.9 lakh tonnes of consignments since the launch of Kisan Rail service two years ago.

In a reply in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, Ashwini Vaishnaw, Railway Minister, said 2,359 Kisan Rail services have been operated since the launch of the service on August 7, 2020, and up to November 30, 2022. Approximately 7.9 lakh tonnes of consignments have been transported on 167 routes in these services.

Major loading stations for Kisan Rail services are Devlali, Sangola, Savda, Raver, Nagarsol, Yeola, Dahanu Road, Lingampet Jagityal, Farukkabad, Indore, Kherwadi, Lasalgaon, Niphad, Nuzvid, Vizianagram, etc.

Major unloading locations for Kisan Rail services are Agartala, Adarshnagar (Delhi), Changsari, Chitpur, Fatuha, Malda Town, Gour Malda, New Jalpaiguri, New Guwahati, Muzaffarpur, Jorhat and Shalimar, etc.

He said potential circuits for movement of Kisan Rail services are identified in consultation with the Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare and Agriculture / Animal Husbandry / Fisheries Departments of the State governments as well as local bodies and agencies, mandis etc. Based on the demand, rakes are provided on priority for running of Kisan Rail services.

Kisan rail services have been operational in Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Delhi, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Nagaland, Punjab, Rajasthan, Telangana, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, he said.

Stoppages of Kisan rail trains are provided at stations where unhindered and efficient loading/unloading operation can be performed, so as to avoid multiple handling and to minimise damage to the commodities, he added.

Commodities price

Replying to a query on the increase in the prices of commodities, Piyush Goyal, Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, said the all-India average retail prices of foodgrains, pulses, tomato and edible oils have not exhibited any sharp and consistent increase in recent months. The consumer food price inflation has declined from 8.60 per cent in September to 7.01 per cent in October, he said.

The government takes various measures from time to time to augment domestic availability and stabilise the prices of essential food commodities. These steps, inter-alia, include releases from the buffer to cool down prices, imposition of stock limits, monitoring of stocks declared by entities to prevent hoarding as also requisite changes in trade policy instruments like rationalisation of import duty, changes in import quota, restrictions on exports of the commodity etc., he said.

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