Title - Red tapped!, - Pune

Damaged, unhygienic drinking water taps at the Pune railway station force passengers to opt for other resources; officials blame shortage of housekeeping staff for the problem

The basins are choked with dirty water, while garbage (left) has been dumped at other outlets

For the last two months, passengers, who depend on the drinking water outlets at the Pune railway station to quench their thirst during their journey, have been forced to either buy packaged water or carry additional water bottles.

Thanks to the inordinate delay in hiring housekeeping staff, damaged taps are lying unattended, while the choked sinks have made the drinking water points unhygienic at all the six outlets on each platform. In the absence of an immediate solution, more railway passengers are likely to suffer in the wake of upcoming summer vacations.   Recently, when Mirror conducted a survey, it was found that while all the taps were leaking, the basins were filled with dirty water due to choked drainage. Besides this, garbage has been dumped in and around the basins. On platform number two and three, water coolers have been put up, but the authorities have failed to ensure that they are functioning properly.   “It is the duty of the railway administration to provide us at least basic facilities like clean drinking water. Every time I have to travel, I need to shell out extra bucks to buy bottled water. The taps are unclean and garbage is littered all over,” said N Roy. However, people with bigger families have been facing more problems.

“We are a family of eight. As I cannot afford to buy so much water, we have to carry more water bottles in addition to our heavy luggage. The water flowing from these taps is dirty and smells bad. We can’t give it to our kids,” said Sonu Chavhan. But there are others who have never relied on the railways to fulfill their drinking water needs. “We always carry five water bottles from home.

We never depend on the water provided at the railway station. It is very dirty and we can’t even think of drinking it,” said Mahesh Thakkar. When contacted, Nandan Garigar, health inspector, Pune Railway Station, said, “The new process of issuing a new contract for housekeeping staff has just begun. Currently, we have only 40 workers for the maintenance of the station.

We need at least 100 housekeeping staff.” Garigar informed that the new contract is worth Rs 3 crore and it will be finalised by next month. However, he blamed the passengers for choking the drinking water basins. “People should keep the station clean and avoid throwing garbage into the basins,” he said.