Railways has transported approx. 6.75 lakh wagons of commodities including about 4.50 lakh wagons of essential commodities like food grains, salt, sugar, edible oil, coal and petroleum products since March 23.
Since March 23, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a 21-day nationwide lockdown from March 24 to April 14, the Indian Railways has done its duty of being the national transport of the country.
Railways has transported approx. 6.75 lakh wagons of commodities including about 4.50 lakh wagons of essential commodities like food grains, salt, sugar, edible oil, coal and petroleum products since March 23, the Ministry of Railways said in a press release.
During the week of April 2 to 8, Railways delivered total 2,58,503 wagons of commodities out of which 1,55,512 wagons contained essential items. This includes 21,247 wagons of foodgrains, 11,336 wagons of fertilizer, 12,4759 wagons of coal and 7,665 wagons of petroleum products, the ministry said.
Working closely with the Food Corporation of India, Railways has moved more than 800 rakes carrying over 20 Lakh MT food grains across the country since March 24. FCI is able to meet the increasing demand of food grains by gearing up the pace of supply of wheat and rice throughout the country mostly by Rail, the press release said.
Railways has also introduced 109 time-table parcel trains to supply essential commodities including perishable horticulture produce, seeds, milk and dairy products, the ministry said.
Approximately, 59 routes (109 trains) for parcel special trains have been notified since the beginning of the lockdown, connecting almost all the important cities of for transportation of essential and perishable goods at a fast speed, it added. These services are expected to be further scaled up as per requirement.
"The Railways continues to deliver essential commodities through its freight services during the nationwide lockdown to strengthen Government’s efforts in managing the challenges and adverse impact of COVID19 in the country," the ministry said.
Supplies of goods has not been stopped during the lockdown with transport services vehicles allowed to be on the roads. However, there are fewer vehicles on the roads and Railways has become the primary transport mode.
"The Union Government has been focusing special attention to ensure that the supply chains of essential goods are maintained, besides ensuring that farm produce is transported without hindrance within the state and inter-state," the ministry added.
As agriculture and allied sectors have been exempted from the restrictions, the Department of Fertilizers of Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers is making all efforts to ensure an adequate supply of fertilizers for the upcoming Kharif season. The move is aimed to ensure that the farmers do not suffer from any adverse fall out.
The Department of Fertilizers is closely monitoring the production, movement & availability of fertilizers and is in regular touch with State Governments & Ministry of Railways on the same, the press release said.
As part of the guidelines issued for the lockdown under the Disaster Management Act, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has allowed manufacture/production, transport and other related supply-chain activities in respect of essential goods like foodstuff, medicines and medical equipment.
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