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Special SER parcel trains soon

WHAT is the connection between the South Eastern Railway (SER) and the ubiquitous betel leaf (paan), grown in abundance in the Midnapore, Hooghly and Howrah districts of West Bengal, and the Balasore and Puri districts of O rissa? Huge quantities of betel leaf are transported by road and rail to destinations in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and North Orissa.

The SER carries the bulk of betel leaf produced in these regions to different parts of India, for paan-making. It plays a key role in the transportation and clearance of this perishable high-demand, large volume chewable commodity all over the country in parcel and luggage vans of mail/express trains from Kharagpur, Panskura, Dantan, Jaleswar, Balasore and Bagnan stations of the Kharagpur division.

The SER is now considering introduction of special parcel express trains for hand parcels, creating additional capacity for perishable traffic like betel leaf and other time-sensitive products in fast moving trains. Betel leaf is carried in motes (bunche s), with one mote containing 1,000 betel leaves.

In Midnapore district alone, some 4,500 hectares of land is under paan cultivation, and about 25 lakh motes, equal to about 50,000 tonnes, are produced annually. Some 107 lakh mote are produced annually in West Bengal, yielding a total market value of cl ose to Rs 1,300 crore.

The opening of the 78-km long Tamluk-Digha line (in Midnapore district), scheduled for March 2001, is expected to throw up new opportunities for the betel leaf farmers of Tamluk and Contai sub-divisions, as they will now be able to use this rail facility to send the commodity to various destinations across the country. The principal varieties include the popular `Bangla', `Meetha' and `Saanchi', which are transformed into the delightful Banarasi and Lucknowi paans of the north. -- Our Bureau