SAHIL BHAT
SEPT 15: Scores of Kashmir’s fruit growers heave a major sigh of relief today as J&K LG Manoj Sinha flagged off the first freight train service from the valley to Delhi.
Taking to social networking site X, LG Manoj Sinha said, “Flagged off the first dedicated Parcel Train from Budgam to Adarsh Nagar Delhi. This new freight train service is a big step for the apple growers of the Union Territory to transport their produce to different parts of the country.”
LG Sinha further expressed gratitude to PM Narendra Modi, citing that the development is aimed to reduce transit time and exceed the income opportunities of farmers. He further stated this will play vital part in taking local economy to new heights.
On X, LG added, “Grateful to Hon’ble Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji for ushering a new era of trade & business for apple growers & traders of Valley. It’ll significantly reduce transit time & increase income opportunities for thousands of farmers & boost agricultural economy of the region.”
It is learnt that the Cargo parcel train was flagged off from Nowgam railway station in Srinagar and is slated to reach Delhi on Tuesday.
Sinha emphasized that the goods from Kashmir will reach the markets in rest of the country at lesser costs benefitting the fruit growers.
In view of the torrential rains battering parts of J&K early this month, the National Highway connecting Kashmir with rest of the country remained shut and Kashmiri fruit growers had to face immense loss in this regard.
Taking cognizance of this, on Sept 11, Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced on X, “Empowering Kashmir’s apple growers with the Jammu-Srinagar line operational, the Kashmir valley has better connectivity. Railways is introducing a daily time-tabled parcel train from Badgam in Kashmir Valley to Adarsh Nagar station in Delhi starting 13th September 2025.”
