E-Paper
Op Gati Shakti: Modernised goods sheds at rly stns to help boost farmers’ income
Under operation Gati Shakti of the Indian Railways (IR), goods sheds will be constructed at intermediate stations. They would also be made hi-tech with CCTV camera monitoring and better storage facilities, said railway officials.
The Indian Railways will soon construct state-of-the-art goods sheds at smaller railway stations to help produce of local farmers reach bigger markets and thus enhance their income.
Under operation Gati Shakti of the Indian Railways (IR), goods sheds will be constructed at intermediate stations. They would also be made hi-tech with CCTV camera monitoring and better storage facilities, said railway officials.
“In the first phase, 12 goods sheds have been selected under Prayagraj division of the North Central Railway (NCR) namely Manda, Iradatganj, Harduaganj, Mainpuri, Etawah, Firozabad, Shikohabad, Fatehpur, Mirzapur, Athsarai, Phaphund and Ekdil stations,” said public relations officer of Prayagraj division of NCR, Amit Kumar Singh.
Explaining the benefit of the move, Singh said that for instance, the famous black rice and black wheat flour from the trans-Yamuna area and Moonj grass products could now be sent across the country from the goods shed at Manda station.
This means whether sending local products to Gujarat, Kolkata, Punjab or Chennai, the producers of these areas will be able to find bigger markets and thereby enhance their income, he added.
Singh further said the division is selecting such places for constructing these sheds where the railway infrastructure is not only strong but is also easily accessible to local farmers.
Small farmers and producers will benefit from this. For the purpose, the goods sheds are being modernized, he added.
Prime Minister Gati Shakti, also known as National Master Plan for Multi-modal Connectivity is a mega project worth $ 1.2 trillion USD to provide competitive advantage for manufacturing in India.
The plan aims to bring all relevant ministries and departments of the Government of India together and create a digital platform for more holistic and integrated planning of projects. Among other initiatives, it will interconnect ministries of Roadways, Indian Railways, airways and waterways for easy movement of goods.
It will also enable transparency in monitoring current projects and provide information about upcoming connectivity projects to the community. The main objective of the plan is to achieve a sustained $5 trillion USD economy and an increase to $20 trillion USD economy by 2040.
