BENGALURU: The first-aid vending machine that Lalbagh authorities have installed following Vikram’s death is a demo piece provided by a vendor free of cost. The authorities are mulling on installing more. Currently one machine is available near Glass House and 35 other first-aid boxes have been fixed on cement poles at various other locations. The 240-acre garden should ideally have 75 guards on three 8-hour shifts but currently there are 22, stretched over three shifts.
“Additional recruitment is stuck in tender process,” said M Jagadeesh Joint Director of Horticulture (Parks and Gardens). The department has a deputy director, two assistant horticulture officers, five horticulture assistants, and 45 gardeners.
MR Chandrashekar, Deputy Director, Lalbagh, said, “The first-aid vending machine normally costs `2.5 lakh. At the moment, it is not costing us anything. The response has been tremendous. We will see if we can install two or three more. At the moment, it is stocked with six water bottles, 12 pain sprays, 12 sanitary napkins, 12 mini-first aid boxes and 12 maxi-first aid boxes. While the water bottle costs `10, spray costs `50, napkin costs `10, mini first aid costs `100 and maxi first aid costs `150 (it has gloves and ointment with it). When the demo phase gets over in future, all this would cost twice as much.”