After nine trips by a 10-wagon water train, a 50-wagon water train carrying 25 lakh litre water reached parched Latur today.
The train, christened 'Jaldoot', left Miraj in western Maharashtra at around 11 PM last night, for drought-hit Latur city, a distance of around 342 kilometres.
So far, 70 lakh litre water has been delivered by train to Latur, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said, according to The Economic Times report.
The train had previously made nine trips, each time carrying 5 lakh litres of water, to the parched city.
The 50-wagon train received a grand welcome at the Latur Railway Station on its arrival. Latur city mayor Akhtar Mistry, welcomed the 'Jaldoot Express', which was specially commissioned from Kota in Rajasthan to transport water to the 5 lakh people of Latur.
The train is a big relief for Latur citizens who have been struggling to get drinking water, the mayor said.
The 'Jaldoot' first made its trial run on 11 April. The train initially faced several clearance issues due to the single line section from Miraj to Latur. As a result, the first train had reached Latur in 17 hours.
However, the railways then pulled all stops to ensure that the train was given all the clearances during the journey. Subsequently, the train took just 8-9 hours to reach Latur.Once it arrived in six and a half hours.
The Solapur division of Central Railway ensured that 'Jaldoot' Express navigated the tracks without any hitch, and the Pune division of the Central Railway took care of the loading of water at the Miraj Railway station.
Updated on April 12, 2016: Train carrying water reaches Latur, Section 144 lifted
In order to avert any conflicts arising out of water scarcity in drought-hit Latur, Maharashtra, section 144 was imposed on March 20, 2015. After almost 24 days, the section has been lifted from water-crisis Latur.
Latur had been battling with the water scarcity due to which the government had to impose section 144 forbidding more than 5 people to assemble near a place. The woes have been finally addressed as a special train carrying around five lakh litres of water reached this morning.
The 'water train' with 10 wagons carrying water for Latur had left from Miraj in western Maharashtra at around 11 am yesterday and reached Latur at 5 am today, taking 18 hours to traverse a distance of around 350 kilometres.
“The first batch of ten wagons, each with a capacity of around 50,000 litres, were filled with water at Miraj railway station in Sangli district," said Chief spokesperson of Central Railway Narendra Patil.
The water will be stored in a well located near Latur railway station and supplied to Latur town.
The second train consisting of 50 wagons is expected to be ready for water loading around April 15, a Railway official said.
Earlier there were reports that Latur residents woke up to the situation and 5 men decided to address the water-related problems on their own.
Image Credit: freemediaperson.com
Story first published in The Economic Times