Reportedly even as the water from the krishna river in Andhra Pradesh has started arriving in Chennai since last week, state authorities confirmed to TNM that the water train to the city would be phased out shortly. Meanwhile the much publicized water train was announced even as the city was reeling under a drought-like situation during the summer months between April and June. Furthermore the train was initially touted to carry about 25 lakh litres of water and make four trips per day from Vellore district.
Perhaps officials have now said that the groundwater table has been sufficiently replenished to halt the water train. Apparently an official from the Municipal Administration and Water Supply Department told TNM, “The water supply will continue till the first week of October and after that, it will be phased out. Hence during the summer months, there was an acute shortage of water, so the water train was started and there have been some rains and the krishna water from neighboring Andhra Pradesh, too, has begun to arrive.”
Moreover fifty wagons of the water train to Chennai were expected to carry 50,000 litres of water each, and make four trips per day, with 25 lakh litres of water being transported per trip. Also the Chief Minister had allocated Rs 65 crore for the entire project and the officials have admitted that the quantity of water ultimately brought was only 5.4 million litres per day (MLD) as opposed to the promised 10 MLD.
