Transport of sacrificial animals on the Mango Special train from Chapainawabganj has begun. Animal transport started at Chapainawabganj railway station for the fourth time on the afternoon of Wednesday, 12 June.

From this station, 81 sacrificial animals — 71 cattle and 10 goats — were sent to Dhaka in four wagons, earning the railway Tk 61,880. Railway officials said the special train will run for three consecutive days, until 14 June.

This time the cattle are being carried over the Padma Bridge instead of the Jamuna Bridge, and farmers are happy to be able to send animals to Dhaka cheaply.

A farmer named Shariful said: "I am very happy to be able to send cattle to Dhaka cheaply by train. If you hire a truck for Tk 1 lakh, the cattle reach Dhaka after 20-22 hours. It takes more time and costs more money. By train, the cattle can be carried to Dhaka without being crammed in. They don't suffer, and there is no chance of physical injury."

Chapainawabganj station master Obaidullah said the train will leave Rahanpur railway station in the district for Dhaka at 4pm every day. It will stop at 15 stations in all on the way, including Chapainawabganj, Rajshahi, Abdulpur, Ishwardi, Poradaha, Rajbari, Faridpur and Bhanga, and the train carrying mangoes and animals will reach Dhaka at 2:30am.

The Cattle Special train from Chapainawabganj was launched on 17 July 2021. To ease farmers' hardship, the fare for each head of cattle on the low-cost train has been set at Tk 773.50. Each wagon can carry 20 cattle, and the fare per wagon has been set at Tk 15,470, up from Tk 11,830 last year.

In other years the train crossed the Jamuna Bridge, but this time it will reach Dhaka via the Padma Bridge. Because the Padma Bridge route is somewhat longer, the fare for this train has been raised by Tk 3,640.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.