Mumbai: Central Railway arranges rainwater harvesting at over 150 locations ahead of monsoon

With monsoon approaching, the Central Railway has made arrangements for rainwater harvesting at 150 plus locations. This is namely to accumulate water and then use it for washing trains and other purposes. The CR authorities claim that they have undertaken this as part of their water conservation initiative.

According to CR officials, in a bid to promote water conservation, they are providing Rain Water Harvesting (RWH) at various locations. “Rapid urbanization is resulting in the decrease of infiltration of rainwater into the subsoil drastically, also tube wells drilled are lowering water tables in most parts of the country. This problem gets further compounded in areas where rainfall is poor. To overcome this problem we have taken initiative in rainwater harvesting and provided 158 units at various locations such as stations, workshops, colonies etc. including 24 units provided in 2021,” said a CR official.

Most of these Rain Water Harvesting units are provided in drought-prone areas of Bhusaval and Solapur Division where rainfall is poor. Out of these 158 RWH units, 73 units are provided by Bhusaval Division followed by Solapur Division with 52 RWH units. Nagpur Division has 19 RWH units, Pune Division 8 RWH units and Mumbai Division with 6 RWH units. These include 2 RWH each at Matunga Workshop, CSMT and Lonavala.

In addition, Central Railway has provided six solar umbrellas with rainwater harvesting in Mumbai Division with two each at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus and Lonavala and one each at Igatpuri and Kurla Lokmanya Tilak Terminus.

“The RWH will benefit in the conservation of rainwater, improvement in infiltration and reduction in run-off thereby reducing flooding and waterlogging during the rainy season,” said a CR official.

The RWH also increases the water table of the surrounding area and recharges groundwater with fresh water. It also improves the groundwater quality by reducing the salt content, making it potable for drinking and other uses like gardening, cleaning, washing etc. apart from preventing soil erosion.

The CR officials claim that these are being done in accordance with norms issued by National Green Tribunal (NGT) and Railway Board concerning water conservation, renewable energy and waste management.