South India's first Kisan Rail flags off from Anantapur

South India's first Kisan Rail from Anantapur to Delhi, carrying 322 tonnes of fresh farm produce, flagged off on Wednesday.

Union Minister for Agriculture Narendra Singh Tomar and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy flagged off the inaugural Kisan Rail, the second in the country, via a video link from New Delhi and Amaravati. Minister of State for Railways Suresh Angadi also joined the event.

The newly introduced train started from Anantapur Railway Station in Andhra Pradesh and will reach Adarsh Nagar Station, New Delhi.

The inaugural train loaded with tomato, bananas, sweet orange, papaya, muskmelons and mangoes grown in Anantapuram district.

The train provides fast transport connectivity between Anantapur to New Delhi with the distance of 2150 Km being covered in approximately 40 hours, the railways said in a statement.

Anantapur is fast becoming the fruit bowl of Andhra Pradesh. More than 80% of the 58 lakh tonne of fruits and vegetables in the district is marketed out of the state, particularly to the north Indian states including Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana. Earlier this was being transported by road transport.

The Kisan Rail is planned to be run once a week now but as harvesting picks up after October, the frequency may be increased based on the demand.

The country's first Kisan Special Parcel Train carrying fruits and vegetables between Devlali near Nasik to Danapur near Patna last month.