The Odisha Government has asked the Railways to develop infrastructures in the railway rake points of the State for transportation of fertilisers.
Secretary, Agriculture and Farmer Farmers Empowerment Suresh Kumar Vashishth has urged the General Managers of East Coast Railway and South Eastern Railway for development of the infrastructures.
Fertiliser input is the most important technical intervention for enhancing production and productivity of all crops and its timely availability contributes to crops’ productivity, Vashishth has said.
Presently, about 12 lakh MT of fertilisers are annually supplied to Odisha through 23 rake points. Besides, the Department of Fertilisers, Government of India, has approved another three rake points at Naranapur, Nayagarh and Angul which are nonfunctional till date.
The peak period of requirement of fertilisers in the State is mid-July to September, during which most of the frequency of rainfall is distributed. Fertiliser being a hygroscopic material needs to be protected from water, he said.
However, most of the rake points in the State at present have not even shed facilities throughout the rake length for providing protection to the commodity from water for preserving its quality.
Besides, the Indian Railways has restricted the unloading time of the rakes to nine hours.
The poor approach road and non-provision of electricity are the hindrances in handling and transportation of the rakes in time; that is why the transporters and manufactures often express their unwillingness for supply of fertilisers through these rake points, the Secretary has pointed out. “The resultant effect is that the farming community suffers from unavailability of fertilisers at the critical juncture of requirement which adversely affects the production and income of the farmers as well as GDP of the nation as a whole,” he has pointed out.
Therefore, he has sought personal intervention of the two Railway GMs in the matter for smooth and timely supply of fertilisers to the State for the greater interest of the farming community.