Fountain in middle of road in Nerul causing inconvenience to motorists

A fountain installed in the middle of a road divider in Nerul Sector 11 is flushing the public money down the drains in literal terms; the water from the fountain is drenching the motorists using the road, leading to inconvenience for them while the road is also flooded at times due to the continuous flow of water from the fountain

A fountain installed in the middle of a road divider in Nerul Sector 11 is flushing the public money down the drains in literal terms.

The water fountain in the middle of a road divider in Nerul Sector 11, Navi Mumbai. It is causing inconvenience to motorists. (HT PHOTO)

The water from the fountain is drenching the motorists using the road, leading to inconvenience for them while the road is also flooded at times due to the continuous flow of water from the fountain.

The fountain, residents claim, is also an accident hazard as the sudden water sprouting from the fountain distracts motorists.

The NMMC had decided to install fountains on major spots in the city as part of its beautification for Swachh Survey 2022. The fountain on the divider in Nerul cost ₹5 lakh while the entire set up of motor and light arrangements cost around ₹8 lakh.

Anuj Kumar Pandey, an activist from Nerul, said, “The NMMC, in its attempt to ace the Swachh Survey, has invested crores of Rupees in installing water fountains across the city but this fountain is merely a waste of money. It is creating inconvenience to the motorists as it drenches them and also floods the road. It would also lead to accidents.”

Smita Nair, a housewife from Nerul, added, “I really don’t understand where the NMMC got the idea of installing a fountain in the middle of the road divider. The civic body should give attention to the projects that will be more useful for the citizens instead of just making water fountains.”

NMMC commissioner, Abhijit Bangar, said, “The NMMC policy regarding the water fountain is that it should be on traffic island. Moreover, the water fountain water should not go on the road and it should be done in such a way that no nuisance is created for the traffic. I will give instructions to the officials that they should look at the water fountain in Nerul Sector 11 from where the water is coming out and repair it on a priority basis.”

Earlier, in 2013, NMMC had realised that maintaining and operating fancy water fountains is a taxing affair and decided that they would not be installing any water fountains. In 2020, many of the NMMC-installed water fountains at important chowks in the city were lying defunct.