Parched manufacturing city in India brings in water by rail

Chennai, India's Motor City, is so desperate for water that it is bringing it in by train

Last updated: July 29, 2019 | 15:11

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People fill drinking water from a water tanker truck in Chennai, in the Southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu.

Jolarpet, India: Amid the green Yelagiri hills of southern India, the train inches along the tracks, carrying what has become precious cargo: drinking water bound for Chennai, India's parched Motor City.

Demand for water in the manufacturing and IT hub on the Bay of Bengal far outstrips supply, forcing authorities to take extreme and costly measures to serve the city's 10 million people. And so, every day, the train sets out on a four-hour, 216-kilometer (134-mile) journey, its 50 tank cars carrying 2.5 million liters (660,000 gallons) of water drawn from a dam on the Cauvery River.

The train is classic Indian "jugaad," the Hindi word for a makeshift solution to a complicated problem.Parched manufacturing city in India brings in water by rail

Colorful vessels lie in wait to be filled with drinking water from a water truck in Chennai in Southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu.

Workers fill wagons of a train with drinking water piped in from the Mettur dam on the Cauvery River, at Jolarpet railway station, 216 kilometers (135 miles) from Chennai in the Southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu.

A woman carries drinking water filled from a water truck in Chennai in Southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu.

Workers fill train wagons with drinking water piped in from the Mettur dam on the Cauvery River, at Jolarpet railway station, about 216 kilometers (135 miles) from Chennai in Southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu.

Hose-pipes are used to fill train wagons with drinking water piped in from the Mettur dam on the Cauvery River, at Jolarpet railway station.

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