Hyderabad: Like in Mumbai, the South Central Railway authorities have now passed orders not to waste water by washing coaches and to manually clean them instead. Water will now only be used to clean the toilets.
The SCR receives water from the Water Board for consumption, and nala-treated water and bore water for washing trains and platforms. There are three maintenance stations in the city.
A senior official of the SCR, explaining the water usage at Secunderabad railway station, the biggest among the three stations, said, “The station receives 30 lakh litres of drinking water from HMWS&SB on regular supply days. SCR general manager Ravindra Gupta has instructed that there should be no compromise on serving water to passengers on trains and on the platforms.”
He said it takes around 24 lakh litres of water to clean 1,045 coaches a day, of which 680 coaches pass through the station and 365 originate from Secunderabad.
Water from borewells and treated water is used for washing the trains. SCR has a recycling plant at Secunderabad where close to 2 lakh litres of water is recycled daily.
“Water used in cleaning is recycled and used again for various purposes. Also, one lakh litres is sourced from the borewells nearby. For water conservation, the South Central Railway has built eight water harvesting pits,” he said.
Secunderabad serves around 1.25 lakh passengers, including MMTS passengers.
The official added, “Water is used for washing toilets and basins. For washing the trains we have reduced the water consumption at Kacheguda and Nampally. With this thousands of litres will be saved. The Railways also plan to set up water recycling plants at Kacheguda and Nampally.”
