Heat and crowded trains: The cost of cool, clean water on a migrant journey

For migrant workers hopping onto long-distance trains, it is the consolation of being home that spurs them to overlook the challenges of journeys made with limited means, particularly access to clean and affordable drinking water

Neetu Singh

Ishita Dey

ON BOARD LOKMANYA TILAK TERMINUS EXPRESS: Ashwini Kumar Jha acts upon the urge to ‘go home’ often on the spur of the moment or at short notice at best. “I did not book a ticket. I felt like going home, so I boarded the train,” said Jha, a pravasi mazdoor (migrant worker) as he prefers to describe himself, scanning for a comfortable spot in the crowded maze ahead of him.

Jha is standing in the passageway between the toilet and the berths of the sleeper coach on the Bhagalpur-bound Lokmanya Tilak Terminus Express (LTT Express) — a tri-weekly train, which starts at Mumbai and traverses over 1,900 kilometres through Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar before culminating at its destination almost 34 hours later.

It was almost dusk and Jha, the seasoned traveller, understood he had to find a place in the compartment. Evidently he did not have a seat, having boarded the train from Kalyan Station at 8.45 am on a chalu ticket (bought on the spot from the reservation counter which enables him to board the sleeper and general compartment). His ticket did not guarantee a seat on a sleeper coach, nevertheless, he tried to accommodate himself in one and there were other passengers, mostly migrant workers, who tried to do the same. Jha was hoping to find space on a berth and, if not, on the empty passageway where he could squat or at least stand properly.

Jha, who works in the textile industry, has been in Mumbai for 17 years, and frequently makes the long-distance journey home to Uttar Pradesh. He had, however, not expected the compartment to be so crowded. A veteran on the route, it is his first time on the LTT Express, but a look at the unsanitary washrooms, and he lamented, “Bihar bound trains are the worst”.

With an entire day and night, and some more to be spent on the train, Jha had packed the food required for the journey. He asserted meals served on trains were not good. Most migrant workers on the train had packed their breakfast and lunch and aimed to save some for dinner.

However, when it came to drinking water, Jha preferred to buy it. “I drink 10-12 litres of water a day, and end up buying drinking water for about Rs 500 on an up-and-down train trip,” said Jha.

THE WATER EXPENSE

Drinking water constitutes a sizable expense during train journeys, especially in the summer months. Sourcing drinking water in crowded railway compartments and at stations, however, remains a challenge throughout the year. For migrant workers such as Jha, the difficulties compound during the festive season when sleeper class and general coaches are particularly crowded.

Trains like the LTT are full to the hilt around Chhath Puja, Diwali, Holi and Eid. And for migrant workers heading home for festivities on long-distance trains, access to safe and affordable drinking water remains a concern.

There is no provision for drinking water on long-distance trains other than buying bottled water sold by vendors contracted with the Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC). Migrant workers preferred packing meals to buying food packets from the pantry so as to not add to their expenses. However when it came to water, the most they could manage was to carry up to five litres, often in two 2.5-litre plastic bottles, which was not enough on journeys that extended over days.

Srinivas Kumar, another migrant worker who boarded the LTT Express at Kalyan, said he, too, spends around Rs 500 on drinking water, an expense over and above the water he carried from home. Kumar, who works in the tile industry, is making an impromptu trip home to Jamalpur in Bihar as his daughter has taken ill. With over 30 hours on the train, he ends up having to buy water.

“The one-way journey home, including the ticket, water and other miscellaneous expenses, costs me more than Rs 2000,” said Kumar, adding that getting home often entails deboarding at nodal stations and taking connecting trains or availing road transport.

The amount of water consumed on long train journeys depends on the distance of travel and weather conditions. “It is impossible in the summers to carry regular water which is at room temperature,” Kumar said.

Many passengers in the general compartment of the LTT Express adopted ingenious ways to keep water cool. Some carried water in flasks and mixed it with regular water along the journey. A migrant worker took out a gamcha and wrapped it around a 2-litre soft drink bottle filled with water, while another kept a look out for clay pots which ensured a degree of coolness to the water. A third preferred to quickly step out of the train at the station and drink straight from the tap and hop right back. Most preferred to carry water from homes, but kept a small reserve of money to buy it when they ran out of stock.

CLAY POTS TO VENDING MACHINES

Drinking water is made available at railway stations through clay pots, Rail Neer — the subsidised bottled water, and water vending machines. Those like Jha and Kumar who travel in compartments which are typically at the front or rear of the train have only 2-3 minutes at the smaller stations to get down, weave in and out of crowds, and collect water before hopping back into the train.

“If the compartment is far from the source of water at the railway station, we are forced to buy from vendors who overcharge, or sell regular and chilled water at different prices,” said Kumar.

Longer the travel time for passengers, greater the need to buy water or get a refill at nodal stations on the transit route.

Vendors primarily sell Rail Neer at Rs 15 a litre on trains and at stations. But they also sell other brands of bottled water along with Rail Neer. Migrant workers on the LTT Express noted the shortage of the cheaper Rail Neer bottles compared to other non-subsidized brands. They added that especially in summer, it was not uncommon to find vendors charging an excess fare of Rs 5 for chilled water.

A vendor, selling water bottles for IRCTC, on conditions of anonymity shared that prior to the installation of water vending machines at stations, passengers would often find that taps marked for drinking water, especially near sleeper coaches, were non-functional which forced them to buy bottled water.

Migrant workers generally agree that supply of drinking water on trains and at stations have improved over time. “It is not difficult to find water on trains. Usually, one or two vendors sell water even late at night,” said Kumar. “And when the train halts at stations, vendors are available, and free drinking water can be collected from designated taps and coolers. But ever since the introduction of bottled water, people tend to believe that it is safer.”

The preference for bottled water, even among migrant workers who often could not afford more than two bottles of Rail Neer, raises questions on the affordability of drinking water and its commodification on trains. Both Jha and Kumar preferred to buy bottled water to refilling since the latter came with challenges.

HOP DOWN AND REFILL

On the route of the LTT Express, the two veteran travellers considered certain junction stations critical to refilling water, and the key one was the Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Junction Station, formerly known as Mughalsarai in Uttar Pradesh, which receives around 456 trains crisscrossing northern, eastern and western India.

The biggest crowd during summers at the station is around the water vending machine, the primary source of chilled water.

As soon as the Shipra Express from Howrah to Indore pulled into platform four, passengers got down and rushed towards the drinking water facility. Stoppage time of long-distance trains at most stations ranges between two-three minutes. Passengers board, deboard, buy food and source drinking water during these few minutes before continuing their onward journey.

Pintu Yadav, a migrant worker, who had gotten off to fill water from the vending machine said there is a shortage of drinking water inside the compartment since vendors could not navigate through crowded sleeper and general coaches. And those who did, overcharged — Rs 20 for a litre of water. “I have already spent Rs 200 on water,” he said before quickening his steps to get back on the train.

Vishal, a migrant worker from Bihar waiting to fill water from a tap at the station, observed that buying water is a financial burden, an additional cost to the trip. Filling water on platform eight, he lamented, it was “normal water”. “We are forced to drink it as we cannot afford to buy water for the entire trip. Sometimes, out of compulsion, we even drink hot water filled in containers. Even if we skip a meal, getting water in summer is essential,” he added.

There are 11 water vending machines on the platforms receiving long-distance trains at the Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhaya Junction Station, one each at the front, middle and end of the platform, said Vishal Yadav, who attends to a water vending machine at the station.

Apart from newly-installed water vending machines, there are taps marked for drinking water and Rail Neer is available as well. Like at many railway stations, traditional clay pots filled with water are available, but no one could be spotted drinking water from them.

“Passengers rely on other sources only when there is a shortage of water in vending machines,” Yadav said. All passengers from the dibba (local name for the general compartment) are unable to make it to the vending machines, added Yadav.

Water sourced from vending machines is not free, and costs a nominal rate of Rs 1, Rs 3 and Rs 5 for a refill of 300 ml, 500ml and 1l containers. While water from vending machines comes cheaper than bottled brands, workers who attend to the machines are paid a meagre Rs 5000 for 15 days of work.

Dinesh Chauhan, who sold Rail Neer at the station, observed, “Summer is the most important season for water sales, especially from April to July, and demand drops by August. We often put crates on the pushcart and take it to the coaches. Most people in general coaches buy Rail Neer as it is available for Rs 15 a bottle.” Vendors manage to sell about 100 crates of water daily, each crate holds 12 bottles, and most passengers prefer cold water during summer months.

S.K. Sinha, assistant station superintendent at another nodal station — Varanasi Junction said, “There are 11 platforms and platform one has seven drinking water points. There is no water issue here. Around 10-12 trains to Mumbai pass through the station, and more trains between 12 noon to 5 pm. Although there is a crowd for water on the platform during summer, there has never been a time when people didn’t get water at the station.”

Vivek, another migrant worker travelling on the LTT Express, observed that though water is available at railway stations and there are multiple options, at times passengers have to wait for their turn to deboard and fill water at a price.

Fifty-year-old Vikas Narayan, owner of the Sarvodaya Book Stall at the Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay Junction Station, said extreme summer heat in recent years posed fresh challenges. “Since there were heat waves, better water arrangements were made at the station. The demand spiked, so did the supply. When there was a severe shortage, scout boys filled water in buckets and delivered it to every window,” he said.

Access to affordable and safe water at the right temperature to provide relief from searing summer heat remains a significant challenge for migrant workers during their long-distance travel. Water vending machines, launched recently by the IRCTC at junction stations, are an incisive step in making chilled water available for travellers, including migrant workers for whom the railway remains the nodal mode of transport. While the subsidized initiatives go a long way in facilitating access to clean water, its continued commodification adds to the growing travel costs of migrant workers with limited means.

With a new festive season round the corner and trains packed to the brim again, Jha is most likely to hop onto one, for the feeling of being home is not the one he fights. Migrant workers making a beeline to be with families will cram yet another long-distance train, and it is the network of water vendors who will sustain them on the journey.

Meanwhile, as the crowds swelled in the passageway of the LTT Express, an IRCTC vendor carrying an aluminium bucket filled with Rail Neer paused for a moment next to Jha. With the coach still packed, he placed the bucket on his head, balanced and forced his way through the melee. Returning a while later, his bucket empty, he signalled to another vendor to get to coaches farther away where thirsty passengers were waiting. “Your bucket will be empty in five minutes. I did not have enough”.

(Reporting locations: On board LTT Express, Kalyan, Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Nagar and Varanasi stations)

Ishita Dey teaches at the Department of Sociology, South Asian University, Delhi. She has researched the journeys of migrant workers for a Calcutta Research Group project.

Edited by P Anima

Neetu Singh is an independent journalist and the founder of Shades of Rural India. Her consistent reporting on gender-based violence in rural India has led to effective police action and justice for survivors.