PCMC fountains run dry as officials turn Nelson's eye

PUNE: Failure on the part of the Pimpri-Chinchwad municipal corporation (PCMC) to maintain its fountains, built at the cost of an estimated Rs 50 lakh, has reduced them to junk.
A quick survey of PCMC fountains revealed seven of them have been defunct for a long time now. The condition of these fountains has been deteriorating with moss cropping up all over and broken and rusting components and other junk material floating inside the water pools built around them.
While PCMC built most of its fountains inside welllandscaped gardens, others adorn major squares.The fountains, worst affected by PCMC’s apathy are the ones at Sai Udyan, Chikhali, Sant Dyneshwar Udyan and one each at the Nala parks in Chinchwad and Akurdi, Pimpri Waghare and Pimple Nilakh chowks. Interestingly, PCMC official were unable to offer an explanation for the poor maintenance of the fountains.
Executive engineer Pratapsinh Sisodiya of the civil works department told TNN that the maintenance of fountains is the electrical department’s lookout.
This was denied by Jaiprakash Singh, development engineer, electrical department, who said there was a separate department for the purpose.
Citizens lament the loss of beautiful fountains. “I am yet to see a single PCMC staffer cleaning a fountain or clearing up the moss and rubbish which gathers in them,� said Amit Patil of Pimpri. Satish Sathe of Chikhali remembers most fountains stopped working soon after they were inaugurated.
“Sometimes,when citizens go to enquire about the fountains, the officials give evasive replies or say, they have been stopped for want of water supply,� he added.
The closed water fountains at Sai garden in Chikhali, where want of basic repairs has shut the fountains for months now.