Fix defunct water machine at Ukkadam bus stand, passengers and residents urge Coimbatore Corporation

COIMBATORE:  With the mercury topping the charts in the city, passengers have urged the Coimbatore Corporation to fix the defunct water vending machines and rejuvenate the drinking water station at the Ukkadam bus stand.

The Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation (CCMC) set up a drinking water station at the Ukkadam Bus stand in Coimbatore by installing water vending machines where people can get one litre of purified RO water for 1 rupee. Bur the station has been lying dormant for several months now due to the dysfunctional water vending machines.

As the gruelling summer season has been tiring the passengers at the Ukkadam bus stand, people have demanded the CCMC to fix the machine and make the station operational.

"One has to leave the bus terminus to buy a bottle of water as there are no shops inside the bus stand which is not only a tiresome task for a passenger in this scorching summer, but also makes one miss the bus," said Bhuvana, one of the passengers in the Ukkadam bus stand.

"The drinking water station in the bus stand was a boon to the passengers. While a bottle of purified drinking water of 1-litre costs around Rs 20, we used to fill up our bottles with purified water within a few minutes at just one rupee from the vending machine. Also, nowadays we are not getting the 'Amma water bottles' due to a lack of stocks. The officials must take steps to revive the drinking water station in the bus stand at the earliest" she added.

When enquired about it, a CCMC official said, "Currently, the Ukkadam flyover works are in progress and a portion of the Ukkadam bus stand is also taken up for the flyover construction. Works are also carried out near the drinking water station. So, once the works are finished and the bus stand is revamped, the drinking water station will be made functional again."