PepsiCo Will Be The First One To Send Food To Varanasi From Kolkata By Water

The first company to make use of the Jal Vikas Marg Project (JVMP) would be PepsiCo India as it will send 16 containers full of food and snacks on 30th October to Kolkata reports the Financial Express. The shipment will move via the National Waterway-1 on the river Ganga and will start from Kolkata. The report also said that each container sent by PepsiCo is about the size of a truckload.

Food Via National Waterway

The report further says that the vessel called MV RN Tagore will be carrying the food items being sent by PepsiCo and will reach Varanasi in 9-10 days. Since this will be the first official shipment for the waterway, it will be flagged off by Gopal Krishan, secretary of Shipping Ministry, Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) chairman Pravir Pandey and other senior government officials. The benefits of a container cargo transport includes lower costs of products, lesser damages and pilferages, easier model shift and also helps to reduce carbon footprint.

“We are going to start the first river shipment this month, from Kolkata to Varanasi. This is based on GST, which we are leveraging. We are starting a pilot with the government. It is the first containerised movement on inland waterway on river Ganga,” Ahmed El Sheikh, president and chief executive officer PepsiCo India, told PTI.