Hatia's chronic water crisis is taking a nasty toll on railway passengers.

The dipping level of water in the reservoir last October had prompted the Ranchi district administration to ration the lifeline. The crunch situation has aggravated over the months and now Hatia station, which needs two lakh gallons a day for various platform and yard chores, is receiving only half the quantity.

A handicapped Ranchi railway division is being compelled to dry-clean coaches of trains originating from the junction and request following stations in other divisions to refill water for pantry and sanitation needs.

On Tuesday, the Hatia-Yeshwantpur Express had no water for toilet use until it reached Rourkela, around 163km away. The train, usually packed with Bangalore-bound passengers, leaves Hatia every Sunday and Tuesday at 6.25pm.

"If we knew of the crisis, we could have carried water in jerry cans or something. The train reached Rourkela 19 minutes late around 9.15pm. Some of us had to use drinking water in toilets. People cursed the railway for the inconvenience and tried to register complaints in vain," said Pratham Kumar, a passenger, over phone.

Co-passenger Abhishek Nandan, aware of the new tool to make the Indian Railways listen better, tweeted to Union minister Suresh Prabhu about the water crisis on board at Hatia station. Deepak Kashyap, divisional railway manager of Ranchi, responded on Twitter, saying that the problem could be addressed only at Rourkela station.

The Hatia station and yard sprawls over 147 hectares. As many as 21 trains originate from the station, which means they are washed and tidied for their long run. Two pairs of Rajdhani, originating at Ranchi station, are also cleaned at Hatia.

Railway engineers, requesting anonymity, pointed out that south-bound trains originating from Hatia were worse sufferers than those going towards Ranchi. "The reason is that the distance between Hatia and Ranchi is several times less," one of them explained.

A divisional official said seven deep bore wells were being attempted to tide over the crisis, but stressed that this solution was temporary. "We are in a tight spot."

Niraj Kumar, senior divisional commercial manager of Ranchi, said they had written to the state government, urging alternative arrangements. "All we can do for now is request passengers to bear with us," he sounded helpless.