Source: HT
Indian Railways to now provide clean and safe drinking water to passengers at one rupee. The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) plans to install 1,100 water vending machines at 450 stations in 2017-2018 as part of its efforts to ensure clean drinking water at low cost in rail premises across the country.
These machines will dispense about 300ml of water at the cost of just one rupee. In a series of tweets on Sunday, the railway ministry confirmed that these water vending machines (WVMs) will provide clean drinking water at low cost and that the initiative will help in generating employment for around 2,000 people.
Currently, there are 1,106 WVMs at 345 stations in the country, the ministry said. This project was initiated in 2015 for delivering water at a nominal rate. Water is dispensed through the provision of Reverse Osmosis (RO) in these machines. The WVMs are operated round-the-clock either manually or via automatic mode.
While a glass of half a litre water will cost Rs 3, a litre will be available Rs 5, two litres for Rs 8 and a can for Rs 20.