Sharmila urges Railways to supply Rail Neer to flood-hit Vijayawada

Vijayawada: Congress’ Andhra Pradesh Congress President Y. S. Sharmila Reddy on Friday appealed to the Indian Railways to supply bottled water from the Rail Neer plant in Visakhapatnam to the people of Vijayawada, who are deprived of potable water due to unprecedented rains and floods.

She wrote a letter to Railways Minister, Ashwini Vaishnaw, urging him to help the people of Vijayawada which contributes significantly to the revenues of railways.

Sharmila wrote that Vijayawada experienced an unprecedented rainfall of approximately 40 cm over two days, which has caused extensive damage. The rivulets and drains in and around the city are overflowing, leading to widespread inundation and isolation of numerous colonies, she said.

“This has placed the local population in a dire situation, where the lives of kids, the elderly, and those who are suffering from ailments, are adversely affected. The city now encounters a major challenge, as the drinking water supply pipelines have been heavily silted up. This has made water unsafe for drinking and cooking. The process of clearing the silt and making the water safe again will be time-consuming. Until then, there have to be alternate ways through which the people of the city would get drinking water,” reads the letter.

The Congress leader mentioned that the Vijayawada division, under the South Central Railway zone, contributes an annual revenue of close to Rs 6,000 crore.

“I strongly believe that it is the duty of Indian Railways to help the people in the region, when such calamity has hit them,” she said.

“We understand that a Rail Neer plant has recently commenced operations near Visakhapatnam, with a capacity of close to lakh bottles per day. I request you to consider exploring the possibility of arranging water supply from the plant to the affected areas in Vijayawada. Since the drinking water sources around Vijayawada are largely contaminated, I appeal to Indian Railways to supply potable water to the city. In light of this urgent situation, your immediate intervention will be of immense help to the people,” she added.