It isn’t everyday that you associate the Indian Railway with an environmental initiative, but of late, their efforts definitely deserve commendation. As part of their drive to revive 1,500 water bodies within their premises, the Railways had initially restored four wells in Hyderabad. Now, these very wells boast of a daily supply of 4.70 lakh litres, and over a month, will save the Hyderabad Railway division INR 22 lakh.

According to Livemint, the railways narrowed down the water bodies to 1,561, including ponds, dams, reservoirs, wells and step wells, that existed on rail land. Some of these have completely dried up, while others are partly dried up and not in use. A plan devised by experts has been put into place, to help revive these water bodies, as part of the Railway’s water conservation plan. After the success in the Hyderabad zone, all the other zones have been asked to undertake similar measures.

Instructions have been given by Suresh Prabhu, the railway minister, to all the zones, divisions, production units, workshops and the Railway Protection Force. Regular water audits will also be put into force, to reduce water consumption. The Better India, pointed out that this is in fact only one of the many initiatives taken by the Indian Railway. Besides this move, the railways have also started buying recycled water from private companies, a move that will reportedly save the railways INR 400 crore! The policy also aims to implement a better water management system. Although positive news is always good to hear, we only hope that these policies don’t just go down on to paper, but that they’re properly carried out in the future, after this initial success.

Feature Image Credit — The Better India