Thousands of daily commuters at Chennai's major railway hubs are facing a severe drinking water crisis as crucial water dispensing facilities, including low-cost vending machines and free smart ATMs, have been out of order for several months. This situation persists despite the stations witnessing a massive daily footfall.
Machines Locked and Rusting at Key Hubs
According to data provided by Chennai Central station master Suresh Kumar, the scale of the problem is immense. Chennai Central railway station sees an average daily footfall of around 2 lakh people, while Egmore station handles about 1.3 lakh. The suburban station adjacent to Central serves approximately 36,000 commuters daily. Despite these numbers, reliable access to drinking water at these points has dried up.
An inspection revealed a sorry state of affairs. On platform 3 at Central and platforms 14 and 15 at the suburban station, at least five water vending machines operated by the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) were found locked, rusting, covered in bird droppings, and completely unusable. Meanwhile, a relatively new-looking Metrowater smart water ATM outside Egmore railway station's ticketing counter was found with broken taps, rendering it dysfunctional.
Ground Staff and Commuters Bear the Brunt
The defunct machines have hit the station's ground staff particularly hard. Sanitation worker S Gowri highlighted the utility the machines once provided. "You could get a 300ml bottle of water for just 3 rupees. But for at least three months, the machines have not been working", she said. Gowri added that buying water daily is not feasible on a meagre salary and that the water from regular station taps is of poor quality, often making her sick.
Previously, the IRCTC machines dispensed what was advertised as "purified cold drinking water" at various price points: 3 rupees for 300ml, 8 rupees for 1 litre, and 25 rupees for 5 litres. In contrast, the Metrowater smart ATMs, launched by Chief Minister M K Stalin in June, were designed to provide water free of cost in 150ml and 1-litre quantities using an IoT-based system. However, the one outside Egmore station, despite being under CCTV surveillance, remains unusable due to broken taps.
Official Response and Promises of Revival
When questioned about the issue, Southern Railway's senior divisional commercial manager for the Chennai region, Bharath Kumar, explained the administrative shift. "Water vending machines inside railway stations were earlier handled by IRCTC, and the management was handed over to us a week ago", he stated. Kumar assured that tenders for new contractors would be issued the following week and that the ATMs should be functional again by the time of the Pongal festival.
Egmore MLA I Paranthamen pointed out the jurisdictional limitations. "If the ATMs are inside railway premises, we can only complain to Railway officials", he told TOI. He committed to ensuring water ATMs on the roads function properly and promised to coordinate with Metrowater or NGOs to install more such water dispensers in the area to alleviate public hardship.
The prolonged non-functionality of these essential services at critical transit points underscores a significant gap in public utility maintenance, leaving a vast population of daily travelers and workers struggling for a basic necessity like safe drinking water.
