Amidst the lockdown that has crossed 120 days, Railways have made available power tillers from Kerala to the small and marginal farmers in the North East to ensure seamless farming operations.
The un-interruped freight loading in railway network following the COVID-19 safety protocol came in handy to ship the power tillers manufactured by the Kerala Agro Machinery Corporation (KAMCO), a State-owned undertaking under the Department of Agriculture.
It is not the first time that power tillers are being shipped from the KAMCO’s units at Athani, near Aluva, and Palakkad to north-eastern States. The shipping has turned unique as KAMCO was able to deliver five consignments of 850 power tillers in the post-lockdown period in time for preparation of the land for farming. The last consignment was sent last week from Ernakulam Junction.
Power tillers, which are essentially mini-tractors with two wheels and rotary tillers, are preferred over the tractors by small farmers. The Palakkad unit produces bigger-size machines used on plains while the Ernakulam unit makes small-sized power tillers used in hilly areas. The machines can be used for a large number of specific operations such as tilling, ploughing, weeding, pumping, puddling, levelling, hulling, and ridging.
Safe and cheaper
Transportation by rail in parcel vans is safe, speedy, and cheaper and the division has latched on to the opportunity as it will fetch revenue for Railways at a time when it is trying to increase freight movement by all means.
The Thiruvananthapuram railway division has shown positive growth in freight loading and unloading this year despite the ongoing lock down, a Railways spokesman said. The freight loading in the division has increased from 74,048 Metric Tonne in April 2020 to 1,70,968 MT in May and 2,37,803 MT in June.
