The fountains look gorgeous and make beautiful, soothing waterfall sounds. The running water, the gurgling sound and the nature around makes the living place very beautiful, but some of the ultra-modern fountains installed spending lakhs of rupees at various locations across the city have been literally orphaned, thanks to the lack of wisdom on the part of officials in Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC).
The fountain near Tummalapalli Kshetrayya Kalakshetram has not been working for many months now. The fountain has been out of service, with weeds growing all around and moss deposited on its surface. The pool around the fountain is in utter bad shape and walls of pool are broken.
The fountain has been an attraction for most of the visitors to the Kalakshetram, which is one of the very few places in the city where people converge on various occasions, including political, cultural, and social meetings. “The corporation should have repaired it by now as it is a focal point in the city. Many people visit the Kalakshetram or pass through it as it very close to the bus station, railway station, and ever busy Eluru and Bandar roads,” says Swapna, a homemaker.
The corporation launches fountains with much fanfare, however, their maintenance is ignored totally. The money spent on these fountains was in vain. “After having spent lakhs of rupees on the installation of fountains in different parts of the city, the authorities seem to be paying scant regard to their maintenance,” alleges Sk. Baji, a resident of One Town.
The maintenance of fountains is not under one head in the corporation. The horticulture wing has no role to play and the Executive Engineer is responsible for the maintenance of fountains in his circle.
In addition, some fountains are being maintained by the private agencies. For instance, the fountain near Police Control Room (PCR) is being maintained by a private firm, which is also dysfunctional.
