Less than a month after they were installed, two machines that crush plastic bottles have been damaged. Western Railway officials said the machines at Bandra and Andheri stations were tampered with when miscreants tried to steal cameras and speakers fitted on them.
Wockhardt Foundation had installed the bottle crushers at a cost of ₹7 lakh each at 10 stations, including Churchgate, Santacruz, Goregaon and Borivali, on the western suburban railway line. The company has spent nearly ₹30,000 to repair the machines.
Venting ire
In return for the bottles, commuters can opt for 5% to 10% discount coupons at Sahakari Bhandar and Reliance Fresh stores, Paytm credit points or donate the equivalent money to Wockhardt Foundation. Most users opt for the coupons. On March 26, Jayesh Pandey, 23, was arrested for vandalising the machine after it failed to dispense a coupon.
Sarah Tantray, general manager of Wockardt Foundation, said, “The machines do not fall within the range of the CCTV cameras, so we could not identify the miscreants. We have written to the Railway Protection Force seeking additional security for the machines at night. One of our staff members stays guard by day.”
Expansion at stake
Ms. Tantray said the foundation had planned to install the machine on local and express trains. “These attacks are scary. If the machines are vandalised at stations, how can we go ahead with our plan to install them in trains?” She said Mumbai Metro and airport authorities have expressed interest in installing the machines at stations and airports. The firm is also planning to insure the machines.
Aarti Singh Parihar, Senior Divisional Commercial Manager, Western Railway, said, “It is sad that people don’t understand the importance of such machines. They should be promoting and protecting the project, not damaging the machines. We have taken up the issue with the Railway Protection Force and they have promised to provide security. Railway staff at stations have also agreed to co-operate.” The bottle-crusher was installed at Churchgate in last year and crushes 2,000 to 2,500 plastic bottles a day. The recycled material is used to make fabric for T-shirts, bags, towels.
