Varanasi: The temperature is soaring and the heat, coupled with the sultry weather is only adding to the discomfort of the people. A large number of passengers are forced to bear the brunt of weather because of water crisis at Cantonment railway station. The water crisis is giving a harrowing time to the passengers.On Thursday, a long queue of passengers boarding the long-distance trains (mainly north bound train) were found jostling for filling empty water bottles. These passengers, with beads of sweat dripping from their forehead, were spotted filling water from taps installed at platforms of the station. One of them could be overheard complaining about water barely coming out of the taps upon arrival of his turn.The scene at platform 8 was a stark contrast where passengers could be seen getting purified water from water vending machines at cheap rates. At platform 3 and 4, even kids were seen purchasing water bottles from makeshift shops. "We do not know if the water coming out of taps is clean so it is better to purchase mineral water," a passenger said.According to sources, the entire region reeled under water crisis with water being supplied within an interval of two hours. At the railway station, some of the water tanks have been running empty for quite some time with taps running dry. Water was barely coming out from a number of taps. Many water connection points are also without taps, contributing to the wastage of water in the vicinity.Station manager AK Pandey said that the problem of water crisis persisted a few days ago but now it has been solved. There are 18 water coolers, enough to meet the demands of passengers. There are six water vending machines at platform one, two, four, six, eight and nine to give clean potable water to passengers, he claimed.Meanwhile, the city recorded season's highest temperature at 43 degree Celsius on Wednesday. The weatherman has forecast similar conditions for next 48 hours. It would be followed by overcast skies, with chances of showers.

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