Drought-hit Latur gets 5 lakh litres of water

Latur, April 12: The drought-hit Latur region in Maharashtra's Marathwada region is parched and sending relief to the region was The Fadnavis government. Battling severe drought this year, the region was bracing itself for further crisis as the state was host to the IPL matches that required 70 lakh litres of water for preparing the ground.

While the Fadnavis administration is mulling shifting the matches to some place else, the administration sent an immediate relief of 5 lakh litres of water in 10 wagons. The train left from Miraj in western Maharashtra at around 11 am on Monday and reached Latur at 5 am next day, taking about 18 hours to cover a distance of 350 kilometers.

Chief spokesperson of Central Railway, Narendra Patil, said,"The first batch of 10 wagons, each with a capacity of around 50,000 litres, was filled with water at Miraj railway station in Sangli district."

The district administration acquired a well near the Latur railway station where the water would be stored and will then be supplied to the Latur town.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has assured relief to the people here. Also a second train consisting of 50 wagons is expected to be ready for water loading around April 15, said a railway official.

Patil further added,"As per instructions from the ministry of railways, Kota workshop received two goods trains consisting of 50 tank wagons each for deployment in drought-affected areas of Latur during the summer season and the trips of the trains will be arranged as per the requirement."

The capacity of these wagons is 54,000 litres of waters per wagon. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal also pledged support seeking the help of residents of Delhi, asking them to save water, which could be sent to Latur.

OneIndia News