Train carrying kinnows from Sriganganagar district to leave for Bangladesh on Thursday evening
Jaipur, Kinnows from the world-famous orchards of Rajasthan’s Sriganganagar district will now be sold to Bangladesh through special train, and the first goods train laden with the kinnows here will leave on Thursday evening.
Ganganagar Railways Station Superintendent Dinesh Tyagi said a special train of 15 bogies carrying kinnows from Sriganganagar will leave on Thursday evening.
There is likely to be a shipment of 345 tonnes of kinnow. From this train, Kinnow will land at the bordering Bangaon station in West Bengal and from there, it will reach the mandis of Bangladesh by trucks.
Kinnow is a hybrid fruit of the lemon category and is grown in the Sriganganagar area of Rajasthan. It has a different identity in the country due to its brightness, colour and special taste. According to officials of the agriculture department, 11,174 hectares of kinnow is under cultivation in the district, which is expected to produce 1,80,000 tonnes this season.
Rajkumar Jain, president of Kinnow Club Ganganagar, said it is good news for all the people associated with Kinnow’s horticulture and business.
He added that this will ensure quick access and availability of kinnow as well as reduce the cost of freight.
Vijendra Pal Singh, a member of the North Western Railway’s Zonal Railway Advisory Committee, has been raising the demand for running special trains for the transportation of kinnows. He added that kinnows were usually transported to Bangladesh by trucks, which took 5-6 days to reach and the freight was also high.
This time, kinnow will reach the destination in about 42 hours by train and the Railways has given more relief to the traders by giving special discount in the fare. Therefore, it will be a profitable deal for all the kinnow growers and traders.
Railway officials said special ventilated bogies have been provided for the transportation of kinnows so that the fruit is not damaged. Officials are hopeful that if this initiative is successful, more such train bookings will be done for other locations.
Kinnows from Sriganganagar are sold abroad to Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh and Australia. They are sold in domestic markets in Mumbai, Pune, Coimbatore, Bengaluru, Madras, Patna, Kolkata, Visakhapatnam and Hyderabad.
The nature and weather of the soil of Sriganganagar area is considered favorable for the production of this fruit. PTI
