Latur to get dam water in wagons

The railway ministry is considering providing wagons to ensure that Latur gets drinking water from Ujjani dam located near Pandharpur in Solapur district. Relief and rehabilitation minister Eknath Khadse said that though the cost of supplying water through each railway wagon will be Rs 1.5 crore, the state is ready to provide relief to Latur which is reeling under drought.

Union minister for railways Suresh Prabhu, and railway officials are working out modalities to allocate unused railway wagons to transport water from Ujjani dam. Mr Khadse said the operation was cost-intensive and added that railway officials were expected to call state government officials within a week to work out the modalities. He added that the government has urged the railway ministry to either reduce transportation costs or transport water for free as a humanitarian cause.

Asked to comment on reports of Section 144 (prohibitory orders) imposed in Latur, Mr Khadse clarified that orders have been issued at locations where filling of water tankers is underway. He added that people were gatecrashing, causing destruction of pipes and forcibly taking away water and hence, prohibitory orders had been imposed at these filling sites and not across Latur city.

About extra reservation of water stored in Ujjani dam for Ashadhi Ekadashi at Pandharpur, Mr Khadse said that the excess water reserved for the yatra did not serve any purpose now and could be diverted to Latur. Mr Khadse stated that the government would require at least 10 railway wagons to bring water all the way from Pandharpur to Latur by railway. He said the other logistical problem was to lift and pump water from the Chandrabhaga river which was not close to Pandharpur. Besides, just one single railway line went to Haragul station close to Latur and through there was a water treatment plant there, additional storage capacity would have to be created.

At present, 70-odd tankers are in operation, supplying drinking water to Latur and surrounding areas. Mr Khadse said that the government could acquire milk tankers with capacity of 60,000 to 100,000 litres and water tankers capable of carrying 25,000 litres of water could be pressed into service.