After Latur, now 'water train' for drought-hit Bundelkhand

Lucknow: After Latur, now the drought-hit Bundelkhand region in Uttar Pradesh will receive relief in the form of railway wagons loaded with water.

The logistics are already in preparation and the Bundelkhand region, which is facing water crisis, will soon get relief when the water train reaches.

Focusing on the drought-hit Bundelkhand, the UP government in February allocated over Rs 1,400 crore for it in its 2016-17 annual budget for various projects.

The Bundelkhand region is home to 18.3 million people as per 2011 census and is blighted with drought and unseasonable rains that has destroyed standing winter crops. In the last few years, several farmers lacking money for seeds and water for irrigation have committed suicide.

The drought-affected Bundelkhand region is spread across 13 districts that falls in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.

Earlier, two trains carrying 50 wagons and 10 wagons of water was dispatched to Latur district in Maharashtra, which has a population of around 2.45 crore.

Currently, around 15,000 Maharashtra villages, a majority of them in Latur, Beed and Osmanabad districts, are in the grip of acute water shortage.

Railways would make available a third rake, if required, for supplying water in Maharashtra as it is committed to continuing water transportation to the parched areas.

The water train service is likely to continue till the arrival of monsoon.