Indian Railways loads Special Parcel Train to Bangladesh for the first time

Indian Railways loaded special Parcel train beyond the country borders to Benapole in Bangladesh for the first time with Dry Chillies from Reddipalem in Guntur District of Andhra Pradesh state.

Daily Current Affairs Quiz 2020

Key-Points

Guntur and its surrounding areas in the state of Andhra Pradesh are well known for Chillies cultivation.

Earlier, the farmers and merchants in and around Guntur area have been transporting Dry Chillies by road to Bangladesh in small quantities and that was costing around Rs 7000 per tonne.

But the cost per tonne for carrying by Special Parcel Express train is Rs. 4,608 and which is very cheap and economical as compared to Road transport.

To mitigate this problem and to facilitate the Rail users to move their quantities in smalls i.e., up to a maximum of 500 tonnes in each trip, Guntur Division of South Central Railway took the initiative and moved the Special Parcel Express to Bangladesh.

This has helped the farmers and merchants of Guntur to market their farm produce beyond the country border by transporting the Dry Chillies in small quantities through Special Parcel Express.

It may be noted that Indian Railways has taken a series of steps to boost parcel train traffic during the Covid period.