Maligaon, September 3 (MExN): Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) has started transporting rubber sheets and products from Tripura to various destinations.
NFR Chief Public Relations Officer Guneet Kaur in a press release said that more than 90,000 tonnes of rubber is produced annually in Tripura which is having about 87000 hectares of rubber plantation. Tripura exported more than 53000 tonnes of rubber during the financial year 2020-21 to places like Jalandhar, Ludhiana and Delhi. Transportation normally takes place through road sector.
As part of the BDU initiative of the Lumding division of NFR, road shows were conducted at different locations of Tripura in co-operation with the state government. Interactions with rubber traders were held. Rubber is mainly produced in West Tripura, South Tripura and Sipahijala districts of Tripura which are served by railway stations like Sabroom, Belonia, Udaipur, Agartala and Jirania.
Rubber traders were informed that they can easily transport rubber from their nearest convenient railway station at a much cheaper rate in comparison to road sector. For example; cost of transportation of per tonne of rubber by railway from Jirania to Delhi, Jalandhar and Sealdah is Rs 2492.80, Rs 2342.60 and Rs 1745.90 respectively. In comparison, the cost of transportation of per tonne by road for the same distance is Rs 4500.00, Rs 5500 and Rs 3500. Low cost of transportation will also result in overall cheaper availability of products to the end customer as transport costs reduce, informed Kaur.
The NFR hoped that with the starting of rubber sheet and product transportation through railways, rubber growers as well as transporters of the area will stand benefitted. It will also help in import substitution and growth of local economy, it added.
