The train, christened 'Jaldoot', left Miraj in western Maharashtra at around 11 pm last night, for drought-hit Latur city, a distance of around 342 kilometres. So far, 70 lakh litre water has been delivered by train to Latur, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said. The train had previously made nine trips, each time carrying 5 lakh litres of water, to the parched city. The 50-wagon train received a grand welcome at the Latur Railway Station on its arrival. Latur city mayor Akhtar Mistry, welcomed the 'Jaldoot Express', which was specially commissioned from Kota in Rajasthan to transport water to the 5 lakh people of Latur. The train is a big relief for Latur citizens who have been struggling to get drinking water, the mayor said. The 'Jaldoot' first made its trial run on 11 April. The train initially faced several clearance issues due to the single line section from Miraj to Latur. As a result, the first train had reached Latur in 17 hours. However, the railways then pulled all stops to ensure that the train was given all the clearances during the journey
“नेहमीची येतो पावसाळा” तसे आता “नेहमीची येतो दुष्काळ” असे म्हणायची वेळ आली आहे. दर ३-४ वर्षांनी एक लहानसा दुष्काळ आणि दर १०-१२ वर्षांनी एक भयावह दुष्काळ, हे असे दुष्टचक्र प्रस्थापित होत आहे. बरं, अशा वेळी सरकार, विरोधक अथवा अन्य कोणाला दोष देऊन उपयोग होत नाही. कारण पाण्याची कमतरता भरून काढणे खिशातून नोटा काढण्याएवढे सोपे नाही. अर्थातच सरकारी दूरदृष्टीचा आणि आत्मीयतेचा अभाव हि गंभीर बाब आहे. परंतु ह्यामध्ये जनतेची, म्हणजेच आपली, काहीच चूक नाही का?
Sugarcane is a long duration crop which typically grows for over 12 months in India and requires 2100-2200 mm/year of water per hectare. In contrast, the data for other crops are- Cotton requires 900mm and grows for 180 days, jowar requires 600mm of water and 110 days of growth, wheat needs 550mm and 130 days of growth, paddy needs more than 1400mm and 130 days, Soyabean and channa needs 500mm and 100-110 days, arhar needs 600mm and 180 days.
