Before the construction of the Bina-Katni branch of the Indian Midland Railway, the metaled road from Saugor crossing the Nerbudda at Barmhan brought the bulk of the produce of the Sagar District to Kareli station. A mail cart ran from Kareli to Sagar, a distance of . The trade of Kareli has now considerably declined, but it is still the exporting station for the southern parts of the Rehli tahsil of Sagar and the north of Narsinghpur. A cotton-ginning factory, the property of Raja Gokul Das, was opened in 1904. This is the nearest rail station and market for towns of Sagar district.