Mumbai: 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. 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 April 11. 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.
