Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (LTT), touted as the next major terminus, has become the first railway station in Mumbai to adopt rainwater harvesting.
A two-kilometre long trench has been dug of one-metre width and one-metre depth with a mixture of gravel, stone chips and sand of various grades that will enable enhanced percolation of rainwater.
Officers stated that the technique would help them in many aspects apart from saving water. “In the absence of harvesting, the water would find its way to the stormwater drains and go out to sea. It will also reduce propensity of flooding in the area. The expected saving on the water bill is `1.44 crore per annum. This is a first major railway station having a water harvesting technique as a design feature,” said V.A. Malegaonkar, chief public relations officer of Central Railway (CR).
The water will be used for the daily needs of LTT such as coach washing, platform and track cleaning and drinking. LTT requires an estimated 18 lakh litres of water per month, out of which around 35 per cent will be taken care of due to this environment friendly technique.
“Due to availability of space, it was possible to come up with such an initiative,” said Mr Malegaonkar.
The project is also part of LTT’s expansion in the near future. CR is now planning to make LTT the next major terminus.