Railway rakes to be made available for onion transport

Mumbai, Jan 3 (UNI) Maharashtra Marketing Minister Harshwardhan Patil today said the railways have agreed to make available five rakes for transport of onion from Nashik, the main onion producing district in the state.

Talking to mediapersons Mr Patil said, a rake can carry 16,000 quintals of onion and the railways would provide three rakes per day with immediate effect, to tackle the onion glut.

He also informed that the government would sanction grants for establishing onion preserving centres at Rs 1,500 per tonne.

Maharashtra was expected to produce nearly 20 lakh tonnes of onion this year, he said. Since April, the state has exported nearly seven lakh tonnes of onion, the Minister added.

UNI JM DB AE RK1856