Samruddhi’s Support for the Rural Economy

The Maharashtra Samruddhi Mahamarg will not only join the two cities of Mumbai and Nagpur, the 390 small and large villages and towns between these two cities will also prosper. This will provide an impetus to the rural industry too. How will the Samruddhi Mahamarg help realize the dreams of village development? How will this Mahamarg help the industries in the rural areas? This blog, ‘Samruddhi’s Support for the Rural Economy’, is an effort to explore these and other such issues.

Agriculture is one of the most important occupations in India. Along with agriculture, farmers have been taking up allied activities such as animal husbandry, poultry and food processing for many years. On one hand, though this is a positive aspect, there are certain hurdles for these allied businesses to grow. Due to these hurdles farmers are unable to expand their businesses beyond a certain limit. Though there is a great demand from other countries for several Indian food products, be it grapes from Nashik or the Mango from Konkan region, many upcoming rural entrepreneurs have to face disappointments for the lack of transport facilities and business friendly environment.

Understanding these hurdles, Maharashtra Samruddhi Mahamarg is going to play a pivotal role for the rural economy by opening its doors to the international markets. As a result of this state of the art Mahamarg, transporting goods is going to be possible at a very high speed. Therefore, goods with low shelf life, such as flowers, fruits and vegetables can be transported to the busy urban markets in a short time. Until now, farmers were often worried about the quality of their produce getting degraded and the monetary loss they have to take because of the delay in transportation. Samruddhi Mahamarg will prevent delays and enable farmers to earn more profits. On the other hand, the consumers too will be able to purchase farm fresh produce. In this way, the Mahamarg will make a positive impact on the rural economy, thereby increasing the living standards of the people in the rural areas. For example, if the oranges from Nagpur are taking 18 to 20 hours to reach the Mumbai market today, the Samruddha Mahamarg is going to reduce this time to almost 8 hours. Not just these oranges, but vegetables and fruits grown in the nearby districts will also reach the wholesale markets quicker.

The youth from the rural areas will be able to explore new opportunities made available by the Maharashtra Samruddhi Mahamarg; they will be encouraged to start new businesses. With this, the rural markets can be opened up to the international markets. For example, the Paithani saree, which is handwoven in Yeola near Nashik, will be able to approach the international markets.

Maharashtra Samruddhi Mahamarg is thus attempting to strengthen the rural economy, thereby improving the living standards of people living in the rural areas. And people are eagerly stepping forward to take part in this whole process.