Date:16/07/2004 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2004/07/16/stories/2004071602031900.htm

Back Floods put brakes on Delhi-Patna refrigerated van

Gaurav Raghuvanshi

Traders in Delhi say that moving green vegetables from Patna to Delhi may not make sense.

New Delhi , July 15

BLAME it on the floods. The Railway Minister, Mr Lalu Prasad's first "gift" to his home State, a refrigerated van to carry vegetables from Bihar to Delhi, stands withdrawn from service.

Launched with much fanfare on June 20, the refrigerated van made just one trip to the national capital. The van was to be tagged along with the superfast Jansadharan Express on a Patna-Delhi circuit.

The official reason for its withdrawal is the floods.

"With large parts of Bihar reeling under floods, movement of goods within the State has been restricted. We expect the demand for the service to pick up after the flood waters recede and we would start it again as soon as the situation improves," the East Central Railway spokesperson, Mr Sharad Varma, told Business Line from Hajipur.

Mr Varma said that the service hopes to capitalise on the potential of locally grown "parmal", capsicum and green chillies to be exported to Delhi. The train has two sections, one with a temperature of minus four degrees Centigrade for meat and poultry products and the other with four degrees that can be used for green vegetables and fruits.

The Railways charges Rs 162 per quintal as freight charges for the service. On the day of the launch, when the van was flagged off by Mr Prasad himself, it carried about eight tonnes of cargo, roughly half its capacity.

But on June 27, when it was lined up for its second run, nobody turned up to book goods.

"There is not much of a difference in the rates of vegetables between the mandis (bulk markets) in Patna and Delhi. As such, it may not be feasible for traders to send small quantities of vegetables and make any profit out of it. They might as well sell their produce locally," an official at the Sahibabad mandi said.

Apart from the Rs 1.62 per kg cost added by the Railways, the traders would have to pay local transportation charges. With the quantities involved relatively small, the local transportation cost would be rather substantial.

The facility could, however, be patronised by fruit growers, the Sahibabad mandi official said.

"Bihar sends large quantities of litchi, bananas and mangoes to Delhi. Those traders may find the Railway refrigerated van an attractive option, although volumes will still be a consideration," he said.