Latur (Maharashtra), April 12: The ‘water train’ dispatched by Indian Railways as a humanitarian gesture for the parched Latur district in Maharashtra, carrying around 550,000 litres of drinking water, reached here on Tuesday, officials said.
The Indian Railways on Monday dispatched the 10-wagon train carrying the precious liquid of life from Miraj in western Maharashtra for Latur city in the Marathwada region.
The train, which reached here around 4 a.m. after covering a 375 km journey, was welcomed with cheers and a sense of relief by Latur mayor, top civil and police officials even as tight security was deployed around the railway station.
The offloading of the water began at a dried up well belonging to a local farmer near the railway station, after which it will be transported by pipes to a filtration plant.
After flitering it and making the water potable, it will be sent to the intended remote villages in tankers, who are eagerly waiting with kilometers-long queues of multi-coloured plastic and steel buckets, pots and pitchers lined up by the hopefuls awaiting the water.
The initiative was undertaken by Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu a few days ago as many parts of his home state reeled under severe water crises, especially villages in Latur district, which has a population of around 2.45 crores.
