A railway guard clears the track for a train carrying drinking water, at Jolarpet railway station. The 50-tank train carries 2.5 million litres of water on its daily sojourns. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup) 
Culture

Travel diary & photo essay: On board a water train to bring drinking water to Chennai

Travel diary & photo essay: On board a water train to bring drinking water to Chennai. (AP Photos)

Manish Swarup
Workers fill a train with water piped in from Mettur dam on River Cauvery, at Jolarpet. The 50-tank train carries 2.5 million litres of water on its daily sojourns. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
A train carrying water piped in from Mettur dam on River Cauvery, at Jolarpet railway station. The 50-tank train carries 2.5 million litres of water on its daily sojourns. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
Workers fill a train with water piped in from Mettur dam on River Cauvery, at Jolarpet. The 50-tank train carries 2.5 million litres of water on its daily sojourns. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
A worker takes a break as train wagons are filled with water at Jolarpet railway station. The 50-tank train carries 2.5 million litres of water on its daily sojourns. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
Hose-pipes fill a train with water piped in from Mettur dam on River Cauvery, at Jolarpet. On its daily sojourn, the 50-tank train carries 2.5 million litres of water. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
A train carrying water at Villivakkam railway station in Chennai. On its daily sojourn, the 50-tank train carries 2.5 million litres of drinking water. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
Workers decant water from a train at Villivakkam railway station in Chennai. This is a small but critical source for Chennai’s water board. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
Workers decant water from a train at Villivakkam railway station in Chennai. This is a small but critical source for Chennai’s water board. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
Workers decant water from a train at Villivakkam railway station in Chennai. Chennai’s water board employs an army of trucks to deliver 500 million litres of water every day. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
Workers decant water from a train at Villivakkam railway station in Chennai. Chennai’s water board employs an army of trucks to deliver 500 million litres of water every day. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
A water tanker driver waits for his turn as other tankers get filled at a water filling depot in Chennai. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
Water tanker driver Ranganathan climbs onto his vehicle at a water filling depot in Chennai. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
A water truck carrying drinking water arrives at a locality in Chennai. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
People fill drinking water from a water tanker truck in Chennai. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
Vessels lie in wait to be filled with drinking water from a water truck in Chennai. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
Residents wait for water trucks to arrive in Chennai. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
Residents fill drinking water from a truck in Chennai. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
K Devi, 41, talks to her neighbour as they wait for a water truck to arrive in their shanty town in Chennai. Devi at times supplements her supplies with cans for Rs 35 apiece. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
An elderly woman carries drinking water filled from a water truck in Chennai. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
A woman walks into a house with a vessel of drinking water filled from a water truck in Chennai. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)