NEW DELHI: Mizoram and its adjoining areas are set to receive a major boost for marketing their indigenous fruits and spices with the inauguration of the region’s first rail connectivity on Saturday by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Spices such as turmeric, black pepper, and ginger, along with fruits like passion fruit (locally known as Sapthei), pineapples, mandarin oranges, and papayas, will now gain access to wider markets across the country – and internationally – thanks to faster transportation by train.
Mizoram, according to a senior railway official, also cultivates native, and sometimes wild, fruits such as Hatkora, a semi-wild citrus, as well as other varieties like Vuakdup, Tuajtit, and Tawitaw, which are known for their unique preparation and taste.
“Mizoram’s Sapthei fruit, which is highly rich in vitamins, is more in demand across the country after Hatkora – a semi-wild, native citrus variety which carries medicinal and nutritional properties. The train connectivity is a boon for cultivators of these fruits in Mizoram,” remarked a senior railway official, adding that the papaya market from Mizoram will also receive an opportunity, as the state’s papayas remain consistently in high demand.
Taking all this into account, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Saturday assured the people of Mizoram that rail connectivity would benefit the region and create more job opportunities as well. “We are also starting cargo operations within a week that will help in fast transportation of goods and other things. As result of this service, cost of cement will reduce, cost of steel will reduce as the train will transport these in hours instead of taking many days,” Vaishnaw remarked. He also informed the Mizo people that the railway will introduce a refrigerated coach.
“The beautiful turmeric, ginger and the very unique fruits of Mizoram will now find new markets,” he asserted.
Other well-known fruits of Mizoram, like Vuakdup and Theichhungensen (used in fermentation to increase alcohol content), would now also get new markets due to the availability of faster transportation.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday connected Mizoram’s capital with rail connectivity through the Bairabi-Sairang rail line. This project was very challenging for the railway because of topographical reasons, but the railway has made it possible by connecting 45 tunnels and 55 major bridges to facilitate train services.