Each township has a distinctive feature which adds value to its uniqueness. In the case of Crossings Republik, it has two! A massive glass gate welcomes people while entering the township and directs them to its second landmark, the giant structure on the roundabout. The structure is a non-operational fountain which had stopped working many months ago.
The fountain is in such a dilapidated state that a quick glance would reveal the kind of attention it has been receiving from the maintenance department.
Four out of its eight canopies have been uprooted from the ground. “One of the dust storms which hit this summer ruined these canopies,” the guard deployed at the structure told City Spidey on the condition of anonymity.
Yogesh Gautam, a resident of Gaur Global Village in Crossings said at the time booking, CIPL, the developer of Crossings, marketed the fountain as the Unique Selling Point (USP) of the township. “Yahi dikha kar becha gaya hai inko,” he added pointing a finger at the fountain while looking at dozens of condominiums in the vicinity.
Gautam said the fountain has stopped working for many months now. “Actually, it has been so long that I don’t even remember when I last saw it functioning,” he added.
Ishwar Tyagi, maintenance manager of Crossings infra Private Limited (CIPL), developer and maintenance agency of Crossings Republik, refuted the allegation. However, he admitted that it does not operate on a regular basis.
“Because it consumes a lot of electricity, we don’t operate it regularly,” Tyagi added.
Tyagi assured that CIPL would float a contract to repair the fallen canopies of the fountain.
City Spidey reached out to the residents of several societies to know when they last saw the fountain working. Although, residents pointed out various factors, the common thing that emerged was they did not see the fountain working this year, at least. Pooja Shrivastava, a resident of Ajnara Gen-X, a residential society next to the fountain, claimed she did not see it working last summer as well.
Besides, the residents are particularly miffed with the fact that even after paying Township Maintenance Charge (TMC) to CIPL, the agency is not able to maintain the structure. Residents pay 30 paise per square foot, a compulsory charge to maintain the township.
“3 lakh rupees as TMC has been collected alone from Gaur Global Village (GGV),” said Sanjay Jha, general secretary of GGVAOA.
If sources are to be believed, the annual TMC collection from the Crossings is more than Rs 14 crore. It means more than a crore monthly. Interestingly, for the maintenance team, the amount is not sufficient to maintain the so-called fountain!
