Now, get clean drinking water at Ranchi stn for 1

Ranchi: In a major relief to passengers, Ranchi division of

South Eastern Railways

(SER) on Tuesday introduced two water ATMs to provide clean drinking water to passengers at the cost of Re 1.

Railway manager Anshul Gupta inaugurated the water ATMs on platform numbers one and two to cater to the needs of people, mostly belonging to the lower economic strata.

"The water ATMs, which purify water in seven stages, aims to cater to the lower income groups," Ranchi senior divisional commercial manager Neeraj Kumar said. Kumar added that another ATM would be installed in Hatia station this week itself.

The machines, costing Rs 6 lakh each, were purchased by the

Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation

(IRCTC) from a Bengaluru-based company. While a glass of water would cost Re 1, a litre would cost Rs 8. Two and five litre bottle would be sold at Rs 12 and Rs 25 respectively.

Moreover, passengers can also refill their bottle at cheaper prices. Refilling a one-litre bottle would cost Rs 5 and two and eight litre bottles would cost Rs 5 and 20 respectively, the division said. Each machine can dispense upto 800 litres of water in a single refill.

At present, a bottle of water of IRCTC's Rail Neer costs Rs 15.

The initiative came after kiosks and eateries continued the sale of low quality packaged water in Ranchi and Hatia stations, despite a ban by the Union railway ministry earlier this year.

"We have requested IRCTC CMD AK Minoccha to install similar water ATMs in other stations," Gupta said, noting that the unavailability of clean drinking water is a problem in many stations under the division. The division also plans to install water ATMs in

Muri

and Lohardaga stations in the coming months.


Stay updated with breaking news, bank holidays and upcoming public holidays in march.