Hatia station, which was reeling under water crisis since October last year and whose problems escalated manifold this dry summer, has met its messiah on wheels.

A train from Kharagpur, Bengal, carrying 9.1 lakh litres of water, had chugged into the station on Sunday and on Wednesday, the water was supplied to the railway yard and colony, bringing much-needed relief to employees and residents.

In the midst of April agony, a worried Ranchi railway division had sent an SOS to South Eastern Railway (SER) authorities, seeking a lifeline for Hatia.

"Realising how dire the situation was, a special train with 13 water wagons was sent to Hatia on May 15. Each wagon has the capacity to carry 70,000 litres. Another train with seven wagons will be sent by next week," Sanjay Ghosh, chief public relations officer of SER in Howrah, said over phone.

Niraj Kumar, senior divisional commercial manager of Ranchi, said they felt relieved now and hoped that passengers would no longer curse them.

Kumar said on Monday and Tuesday, eight wagons were emptied into sumps (tanks for initial storage) along Subernarekha river. "Water is first flowed into sumps. The train rolled onto a bridge over Subernarekha near Balsiring (a place after Hatia) and then wagons were slowly emptied. Water was filtered and then channelled to the railway's own water reservoir."

The senior Ranchi railway official stressed that it wasn't an easy task. "It takes nearly an hour and involves 15 men to empty one wagon. Eight have been emptied over two days. Five others will be emptied as and when required. Now, we are able to clean trains, wash dirty linen and refill water for journeys. Colony residents have been advised to use water judiciously," Kumar said.

The Hatia railway area requires 6.5 lakh gallons of water every day, out of which at least 2 lakh gallons are required for the station and yard alone.

The local railway authorities were being forced to manage with a total of 2.5 lakh gallons, supplied on alternative days by the drinking water and sanitation department. The crisis was so acute that long-distance trains were being made to leave Hatia without water for toilets and pantry.

So, how many more water trains does Hatia need?

"Well, one more train is expected by next week. We are keeping fingers crossed for timely monsoon and are hoping for rain bounty to tide over this crunch period," the senior divisional commercial manager of Ranchi added.