-Transport goods to Dhaka 3 times every week
-This train equipped with modern coaches
- Train will collect goods from 15 stations
Bangladesh Railway launched a special agricultural goods train yesterday for transporting produce to Dhaka at lower costs in order to combat the rising prices of essential commodities.
Farmers and traders from the southern and northern regions of the country will be able to transport vegetables and agricultural products to the capital, at a lower cost three times a week using this special train.
The railway authorities introduced the special train to stabilize the prices of agricultural products and reduce extortion and harassment on roads.
The train departed at 10:15am from Khulna Railway Station towards Dhaka.
From now on, the train will operate every Tuesday from Khulna, every Thursday from Panchagarh, and every Saturday from Chapainawabganj, transporting agricultural goods to Dhaka.
The cost of transporting vegetables and agricultural products via this train will range from Tk1.08 to a maximum of Tk1.47 per kilogram, which has pleased traders.
On the first day, the special train departed from Khulna with seven compartments carrying 640 kilograms of goods. The train has the capacity to transport 120 tons of goods daily.
Bangladesh Railway (West) Chief Commercial Manager Sujit Kumar Biswas said modern coaches recently imported from China have been added to the train to maintain the quality of the products.
"The train includes air-conditioned compartments and will collect goods from 15 stations, including Jashore, Jhenaidah, and Kushtia, along the route."
Bangladesh Railway Director General Sarder Sahadat Ali said the train will arrive on Tuesday night to align with trading hours at Karwan Bazar in the capital. "If demand increases, the number of trains will be increased."
Special train leaves Jashore without vegetables:
The special train for transporting agricultural products left Jashore for Dhaka without vegetables on the first day. The farmers of Jashore Sadar say that they do not know any news about this particular train. And the railway station master claimed that despite the extensive campaign, there was no response as expected. However, they are hopeful that they will receive a response in the future. Prices of everyday goods are on the rise, the middle class is being crushed. In order to overcome this situation, the Eastern Zone Authority of Bangladesh Railway has taken the initiative to ensure nationwide supply by collecting agricultural products from 15 producing regions of the country. As part of this initiative, 'Agriculture Special Train' left Khulna for Dhaka at 10:15 am yesterday. It was supposed to reach Jashore station at 11:15 am but 40 arrived late. However, on the very first day, agricultural products or food items go from Jashore to Dhaka without booking.
Abdul Alim, a vegetable farmer of Chota Haibatpur village of Jashore Sadar, talked about starting a special train service for transporting vegetables. He said, I first heard about the train from you. I don't know when it will be launched. In response to a question, he said, it is good for us if the train stops at Munsi Meherullah station. It is our advantage if we can transport goods by train from here.
Atiyar Rahman, vendor of Barinagar Satmile Hut in Jashore Sadar said, "I heard about the launch of special train for vegetables from you. Of course, trucks are good and convenient for sending vegetables from our farm. Farmers sell their produce to us. And the truck can stand in front of the truck and give the load. This is our advantage. And it is difficult for us to go to the station, although if we can send the goods by train, we will benefit financially. Meanwhile, Sabzi train is scheduled to halt at Munshi Meherullah station after leaving Jashore railway station. But from there, local journalist Tariq Hasan said, no vegetables or traders were seen there. The next station is Barbazar in Jhenaidah. It is convenient for transporting goods of vegetable farmers or traders of Satmile Barbazar area.
Mobasser Hossain, the master of this station, said, "The special train crossed Barbazar station at 12:20 p.m. No vegetables have come from this station. He does not know whether Munshi Meherullah has come from the station.
Railway Station Master Ayanal Hasan said, Jashore's vegetable farmers will run special trains every Tuesday. For this, a massive campaign has been conducted at the business level. Besides, the agriculture department has also been informed about the new service. But on the first day, the response was not as expected. However, we are hopeful that we will receive a response in the future. He also said that farmers or traders can buy vegetables or products for Tk1.40 per kg in Dhaka. He urged farmers and businessmen to use trains as an affordable fare.
Deputy Director of Jashore Agricultural Extension Department regarding the special vegetable train. Sushanto Talardar said, we know about the special train for transporting vegetables. Recently, in a training session with the vegetable farmers of Abdulpur village of Jashore Sadar, we talked about this. They took it positively. Farmers will benefit financially as it costs less to ship produce by train. Meanwhile, train director Julhas Uddin said that they left the train with 640 kg of goods from Khulna. There was a 10-minute halt at Jashore. No products found here. But he is hopeful that the product will come in the future.
This 7-coach special train will stop at Munsi Meherullah station, Barbazar, Mubarakganj, Kotchandpur, Safdarpur, Ansarbaria, Uthli, Darshana etc apart from Jashore. The train will stop at Dhaka Airport, Tejgaon and Kamalapur stations around 10 pm with vegetables. This train will carry agricultural products from Khulna on Tuesday, Panchagarh on Thursday and Chapainawabganj on Saturday. The cost of transporting vegetables and agricultural products per kg in this train will be from Tk1.08 to a maximum of Tk 1.47. Businessmen are happy with it. On the first day, a special train left Khulna with 640 kg of goods in 7 coaches. Through this train, 120 tons of goods will be delivered daily.
ZH
