New call center to facilitate inter-state agriculture transport

Agriculture COVID-19

The Union Agriculture Minister has launched an All India Agri Transport Call Centre to ease the inter-state movement of perishable items amid lockdown.

Srijita Sen

April 17, 2020

An initiative of the Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare (DAC&FW), Government of India, the 24/7 operating call centre is mandated to solve inter-state problems of transporting perishable items like vegetables and fruits, agricultural inputs like seeds, pesticides and fertilizer.

The call centre—since its inception on April 15, has received maximum calls from Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, as informed by the employees working there.

The main reasons for these calls are the cases where the transporters are stopped on borders of a state by the police amid the lockdown. The centre then connects the caller with the authorities concerned who then check into the legalities and help them to cross borders with their stock.

The centre is set up for people like truck drivers, traders, retailers and transporters who are facing trouble in inter-state transportation of their items.  

Employees at the call centre have informed that the response has been great as they keep receiving a lot of calls. “When we receive a call, we listen to the problems of the caller and try to connect them with the authorities concerned. Then they advise the caller on how to approach their problem and deal with it”, informed an employee.

The employees revealed that some of the complaints also come from farmers whose items are perishing and they don’t know where to and how to sell them.

The toll-free call centre numbers are 18001804200 and 14488, and can be accessed from any mobile or landline phone.

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