MADURAI
As part of the efforts to lend a helping hand to flood-ravaged Kerala, Southern Railway is sending freight trains carrying water from its Chennai and Salem divisions to Tiruvananthapuram.
According to a statement issued by the Southern Railway, seven wagons carrying 2.8 lakh litres of water left Erode junction to Tiruvananthapuram on Friday evening. With the Palghat route being cut off due to landslides caused by the floods, the train will go via Dindigul, Madurai and Tirunelveli, officials said.
The wagons were fitted with 10,000 litre capacity plastic water tanks at Chengalpattu and sent to Erode, where adequate water supply and infrastructure for bulk loading were available, they added.
A senior official said that Southern Railway was sending the wagons following specific requests from the Kerala government owing to shortage in drinking water supply in many parts of the State.
“Once the wagons reach Tiruvananthapuram, the State government officials will decide how to transport and distribute the water. If they want the wagons to be moved to other stations, we will do it,” he added.
Neenu Ittyerah, Divisional Railway Manager, Madurai, said that the train will be given highest priority once it enters Madurai division to ensure that it reaches Tiruvananthapuram as early as possible.
Apart from these seven wagons, Southern Railway officials said that another 15 wagons were getting fitted with water tanks at Tondiarpet, which will also be moved to Erode for filling of water and subsequent movement to Tiruvananthapuram.
The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation is also moving thousands of cartons of water bottles from its bottling plant in Palur in Kancheepuram district with the help of Southern Railway.