The Salem division of the Southern Railways is commissioning a water recycling plant at an estimated cost of ₹1.20 crore in Coimbatore. The plant is in line with its Efficient Water Management Policy to improve water usage and installing water efficient systems on railway lands.
A railway official here told The Hindu that when the recycled water is used for non-potable purposes (replacing fresh water), it saves substantial money and reduces the water bill, in addition to saving on energy consumption.
As part of this policy, a WRP is being commissioned in the railway land near the Old Goods Shed Yard. Construction work has started nearly six months ago and the machinery has arrived. These would be commissioned in another two months.
The total capacity of the plant is to treat four lakh litres of waste water a day. The recycled water would be used to clean coaches and fill the water in passenger coaches. In Coimbatore, nearly three lakh litres of water is used for cleaning and the rest for coach watering.
Once the machinery is erected, the plant would be commissioned. This would help save nearly 80 lakh litres of fresh water for coach cleaning and watering, the official said.
The Salem Division has sent a proposal for a similar plant at Erode. The Southern Railways has, so far, commissioned six WRPs and as many as seven additional WRPs have been sanctioned for commissioning.
According to officials, a total number of 49 WRPs were commissioned across all the railway zones and another 36 WRPs were sanctioned for commissioning. The Central Railway has got maximum share of eight WRPs commissioned, so far.
