Rs 18K budgeted for upkeep of defunct hydrants

Prakash Binsale, a Nationalist Congress Party MLC, who raised a question on the future of the city’s fire hydrants in the legislative council last week, pointed out that money continued to be spent on the hydrants, yet they were defunct.

Prakash Binsale, a Nationalist Congress Party MLC, who raised a question on the future of the city’s fire hydrants in the legislative council last week, pointed out that money continued to be spent on the hydrants, yet they were defunct.

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“Funds are being budgeted for maintenance of these fire hydrants, yet there is talk of their being closed down,” Binsale said.

Minister of state for urban development Bhaskar Jadhav agreed that money had been shown as spent on maintenance by the civic body. “ We have been spending at least Rs 18,000 on each fire hydrant, yet the figures of functional hydrants are few. We will check why this is so,” Jadhav said.

Jadhav added that the city’s development was also to blame for the death of some fire hydrants. “In some places almost three-fourths of the hydrant is buried under the road. Over the years, callous road contractors have kept adding layers to roads without bothering about keeping the hydrants intact,” Jadhav said.