CR, TMT using thousands of litres washing trains, buses

THANE: As much as 50,000 litres of water, enough to supply over 4,000 homes in the city, is being used every week to scrub suburban trains and wash TMT buses, according to a rough estimate by the Central Railway (CR) and Thane Municipal Transport (TMT) authorities.
Quick calculation revealed that CR and TMT collectively use the hefty volume to clean around forty 12-car rakes at the Kalwa car shed and around 200 buses in the TMT fleet at its two depots in the city (see box).
The water used is sourced from civic connections, local borewells and wells in the areas, said authorities.
The huge volume could have otherwise easily taken care of supply for nearly 4,000 families every week, as currently, around 150 litres are provided to each home daily.
The usage or wastage has been partly attributed to the littering and spitting habits of commuters. Officials claim the massive water usage could be curtailed if few passengers stop using the public transport as spittoons.
Plenty of water is required to remove the paan-gutka stains off the vehicle bodies. The exteriors also get discoloured due to multiple scrubbing.
Keeping the acute water scarcity in mind, city activists feel that the authorities should levy stringent penalties on those who litter or spit on buses, train compartments and inside them. “Many times, a few passengers dirty railway compartments and buses by spitting. The authorities should start penalizing those who dirty public transport. A lot of water, which could be supplied to homes, goes waste to clean these stains,” complained Adesh Bhagat, a railway activist from Diva.
Meanwhile, some residents suggested that TMC could use water from its sewage treatment plants (STP) for cleaning the buses and also supply a line to the railways.
TMC treats around 30 million litres of water at its Kopri STP which is drained off to the creek. The corporation spends around Rs 4 on treating around 1,000 litres of sewage water, which could be used for cleaning purposes.
Railway officials said they make regular announcements alerting commuters to keep the compartments clean. “We have also provided spittoons at many spots. We don’t use drinking water for cleaning rakes and have reduced the volume required,” said a railway official.
The TMT officials, too, said that they do not use potable water. They added that they may consider using treated water for cleaning its fleet.