Srinagar, Apr 22: The Anantnag goods terminal will serve as a key hub for routing rice and wheat consignments to Ladakh, replacing longer and more difficult traditional supply routes, officials said.
Earlier, consignments for Ladakh were transported by road from Punjab and Jammu, a system that required advance stocking due to seasonal disruptions.
The shift is expected to improve the movement of essential food grains, particularly during winter when the Zojila Pass remains closed for nearly six months.
Officials said the earlier system required maintaining large buffer stocks for extended periods because the Srinagar-Zojila-Leh National Highway closed.
“As the Zojila road to Ladakh remains shut for half the year, we had to maintain buffer stock for that entire period, which was cumbersome,” said ChitruNaiyak, General Manager, Food Corporation of India (FCI), Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh.
Under the new arrangement, consignments from Punjab and Jammu will arrive at the Anantnag goods terminal and then be transported to the nearby Batengoo facility for weighment before being dispatched to Leh, Kargil and Zanskar, he said.
“Previously, any consignments to the Anantnag goods terminal were taken to the FCI godown at Mir Bazar along the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway for weighment during both unloading and loading, which caused delays,” Naiyak said, adding that the process also raised security concerns due to the proximity of a CRPF camp.
Officials said the absence of a dedicated weighbridge had further complicated handling of incoming rail consignments.
“To address this, we engaged private parties to install a weighbridge at Batengoo, which has resolved both weighment and security concerns,” Naiyak said.
He said the lack of such a facility earlier meant incoming racks often had to be diverted, affecting efficiency.
The Batengoo goods facility, located about 3 km from the Harnag-Anantnag terminal, has direct access to the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway, enabling faster movement of trucks toward Srinagar and other parts of Kashmir.
Officials said the new infrastructure is expected to streamline supplies to Ladakh and improve distribution across Kashmir.
“The system will help reduce transit time and strengthen overall food supply logistics,” Naiyak said.
Rail-based food grain movement to Anantnag has picked up in recent months.
On January 22, Northern Railway’s Jammu Division transported a 42-BCN rake loaded with rice from Sangrur, Punjab, to Anantnag in about 24 hours.
On December 21 last year, a goods train carrying 21 BCN wagons from the Firozpur division’s Ajitwal goods shed delivered around 1,384 tonnes of food grains to the terminal.
