A special ‘water train’ carrying nearly 10 wagons of water began from Miraj and reached drought-hit Latur in Maharashtra. Latur in Marathwada region is fighting with the worst drought ever.The first such train carried nearly 50,000 liters of water to supply to Latur.

Central Railway chief spokesperson Narendra Patil, said, "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 of Maharashtra)."

 

 

A huge well was taken over by the administration to store the water. The well in situated nearly 5-7 km away from Latur. Pandurang Pole, the District collector, is camping at Latur railway station. Arrangements are being made for a pipeline from the spot of halt of the train, till the well. According to reports, the Latur administration made 70 tankers available to carry the water from the well. The combined capacity of the tankers is 22,000 liters.

According to Patodkar, nearly 20 million liters of water is need to serve the needs of Latur city, each day. A supply is provided by the administration one time in 15 days in one rotation.

Devendra Fadnavis, Maharashtra Chief minister, said that the government as well as the railway ministry are putting efforts to supply water to the  drought-affected region and provide relief to people.

The railway official said that the priority of transporters is to reach out to people. However, he declined to disclose the charges collected from the state government by the railways.

- Sumana