Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on Monday virtually flag off the 100th ‘Kisan Rail’ service at 4:30 pm. This comes on a day when protests against the Centre’s three contentious agricultural laws entered day 33.
Union agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar and railway minister Piyush Goyal – two of the three central ministers who have represented the Centre in its talks with the farmers’ unions – will also be present on the occasion.
In ensuring rapid transportation of agricultural products across the country, Kisan Rail has been a game-changer. It offers a smooth supply chain of perishable goods, noted the Office of the Prime Minister (PMO) in a statement on Saturday. The 100th Kisan Rail will run between Sangola in Maharashtra and Shalimar in West Bengal, and vegetables such as cauliflower, capsicum, cabbage, drumsticks, chillies, onions, and fruits such as grapes, oranges, pomegranate, will be borne by the PMO declaration.
The first ‘multi-commodity’ Kisan Rail service was introduced by Tomar via video conference on August 7. The service was introduced in Bihar between Maharashtra’s Devlali and Danapur and was later extended following a strong response to Muzaffarpur in the eastern state. Also, instead of the original three days a week frequency, it was made a weekly service. The Kisan Rail service has transported 27,000 tonnes of agro-services since its operation. The Center also extended a 50 percent subsidy.
The launch of the 100th Kisan Rail comes a day before the sixth round of talks between the government and the farmers’ unions are expected to take place. The unions on Saturday suggested that the talks take place at 11 am on December 29, in their response to the government’s offer to hold the dialogue at a time and date of their choice. The unions had previously opposed the original plan by the government in this regard.
Five previous rounds of talks have failed to crack the deadlock between the two parties, including one each on 1, 3 and 5 December.
