Assessing and modelling drinking water quality at the railway stations of Tripura, India, with a possible strategic solution

Availability of safe drinking water at the railway stations is a basic passenger amenity. To maintain the quality of drinking water, the Ministry of Railways, Government of India, follow the Uniform Drinking Water Quality Monitoring Protocol, 2013, with a benchmarking standard of Bureau of Indian Standards, 2012. The quality of drinking water varies from state to state, including station to station, due to the diversified regional structure of the country. The regional structure of Tripura, Northeastern state of India, is unique for its Tilla-Lunga topography, where 27 railway stations provide passenger services, including safe drinking water of heterogeneous quality. The present study aims to assess and develop a model of drinking water quality at the railway stations of Tripura, India, with a possible strategic solution. Multivariate statistical tools like multiple regression analysis, principal component analysis, and cluster analysis have been used. Weighted Arithmetic Water Quality Index (WAWQI) and Entropy Weighted Water Quality Index (EWWQI) have been applied to assess the drinking water quality of the railway stations of Tripura. It has been observed that several physical (r = 0.42, p-value = 0.064), chemical (r = 0.31, p-value = 0.047), and biological (r = 0.47, p-value = 0.077) parameters of drinking water are positively correlated with each other, whereas chloride (λ = 2.98), E. coli (λ = 2.13), turbidity (λ = 1.72), fluoride (λ = 1.49), and iron (λ = 1.08) are most significant water quality parameters in the railway stations of Tripura. The WAWQI and EWWQI classified the drinking water of 55.55% and 85.19% of railway stations as good for drinking, respectively. Drinking water quality can improve 55.55% to 81.48% by removing iron content from the water. Physiography and land use patterns of surrounding areas of railway stations influence drinking water quality. Elevation and urbanisation have significant negative correlation (− 0.438 and − 0.441 at 5% level) with drinking water quality. Policy-practice interference has been analysed, and passenger satisfaction with drinking water has been measured for the bottom-up planning approach. Through content analysis, a few technical suggestions have been made to improve the physio-chemical and biological properties of drinking water at the railway stations of Tripura.