PUNE: Ten collection kiosks meant for used packaged drinking water bottles at Pune railway station were removed recently. The kiosks were erected on all platforms in October last year. 

They will now be replaced with new attractive kiosks on the lines of those at the airports. 

Pune Railway Divisional Manager (DRM) Renu Sharma had given instructions to officials of Indian Railway Station Development Corporation (IRSDC) to initiate this change. No deadline has been mentioned for installation of new kiosks. 

IRSDC has been managing the Pune railway station for the last one year. It looks after cleaning the stations, food outlets, installing new facilities and providing battery-operated vehicles for passengers, among other services.

The purpose of the kiosks was to collect used plastic bottles separately and prevent them from getting mixed with other garbage. It was installed in October 2019. After three months of use, the officials received instructions from DRM to replace it with the more attractive ones at airports. 

“We had installed the kiosks in October 2019 on all platforms and on the newly constructed foot over bridge. When it was installed, it looked good and made passengers pay attention. However, there were objections regarding height of the kiosks. The DRM instructed us to remove these kiosks as they looked unattractive and replace them with shorter ones. She gave an example of Pune airport, where these kiosks are installed,” said an IRSDC officer at Pune. 

After instructions, the IRSDC officials removed the kiosks. They have been lying at the parcel booking office area for the past week. 

“All types of passengers arrived at the station. It is difficult to look at each and everything. We can’t tell passengers not to touch and maintain it. We are replacing all kiosks with the new one, which will soon be installed,” said the officer.