The Mango Special Train was launched on Thursday, 8 June, to carry mangoes cheaply from Chapainawabganj. But on the very next day, Friday 9 June, mango bookings fell.

On Friday the special train left Chapainawabganj station for Dhaka at 6:40pm, 40 minutes behind schedule. It had earlier left Rahanpur station at around 4pm.

Chapainawabganj station master Md Obaidullah gave the figures. He said 7,787 kg of mangoes were booked at Chapainawabganj station on the first day, Thursday, earning Tk 10,513 in revenue. On Friday, the second day, bookings fell to 6,679 kg and revenue to Tk 8,878.

At Rahanpur station, 4,758 kg of mangoes were booked on the opening day for revenue of Tk 6,295. On Friday 4,485 kg were booked at the station, earning Tk 5,728.

According to the figures reported, a total of 11,164 kg of mangoes were booked at Chapainawabganj and Rahanpur stations on the train's second day this year, against 12,645 kg from the two stations on the opening day, Thursday, a fall of 1,481 kg in a single day.

Station master Md Obaidullah said he did not know the exact reason for the fall in bookings, but loudspeaker announcements had been made repeatedly even before the train began running this year.

Railway Minister Nurul Islam Sujan inaugurated the Mango Special Train from Chapainawabganj and Rajshahi to the capital Dhaka at noon on Thursday, 8 June.

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