The Railways on Friday withdrew the Rs 4 crore water bill sent to the latur district administration and promised to continue running water trains to cater to the needs of the people in the parched areas of Marathwada region till the crisis is over.
“The settlement of expenditure is not relevant at this point of time, as the most important matter is to continue uninterruptedly with the transportation of water to the people in their hour of need,” the Railways said in statement released on Friday evening.
Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu is personally monitoring the entire operation and has directed officials concerned to continue running water trains till the time there is need for water and the settlement of operational expenses will never be a constraint in this regard.
Till now, more than 6 crore litres of water has been transported by the Railways from Miraj to latur. The Railway named these trains “Jaldoot” to emphasise the importance of this crucial endeavour.
According to the Railways, the latur district administration requested Central Railway administration to indicate the cost of water transported for it by the Railways. In response to this request, Central Railway shared the information on the operational cost incurred while transporting the water.
Prabhu has further ordered that the estimate of expenditure which was sent to the latur district administration, on their request, will be withdrawn immediately. “The issue of settlement of dues is being considered separately by the Railway Ministry,” it said.
Taking note of severe drought condition in Maharashtra, Prabhu took the initiative and ordered the Railways to immediately make necessary arrangements for transportation of water in the drought-affected areas of the State.
Towards this end, the Railway Board immediately arranged 100 tank wagons through its Kota workshop and dispatched them to Maharashtra. Mumbai-based Central Railway Zone geared up its machinery and directed its two divisions, namely Solapur and Pune to make arrangements for water transportation.
For the first ten days, when the local State administration at Miraj and latur were to lay pipelines and to create suitable infrastructure, Pune division of Central Railways on its own, started transporting water through a 10 tank wagon goods train using its limited resources and manpower.