PUNE: A plan drawn up by
Pimpri Chinchwad New Township Development Authority (PCNTDA) has mooted
the construction of multiutility centres at 41 places to provide
bathing, urinals, toilets and baby-feeding facilities for the floating
population in Pimpri Chinchwad.

The authority’s chief executive
officer Yogesh Mhase said the estimated cost of the project is Rs 11.39
crore and would cater to people who come to Pimpri Chinchwad seeking
work. “Many unemployed people or contractual workers visit the city
every day for work. A large number of truck drivers and cleaners bathe
and defecate in the open which causes pollution. Hence bathing, urinal
and toilet facilities will be provided to them at these centres,” Mhase
added.

They will be built on PCNTDA
land and a private contractor will run them. The design has been
finalized and a detailed project report has been prepared, Mhase said.

Vikas Patil, president of Paryavaran Sanvardhan Samiti, an NGO, said,
“A large number of container tucks and other goods-carrying vehicles
from the state and elsewhere in the country come to the industrial areas
of the city. Drivers and cleaners of these vehicles openly bathe, wash
clothes and conduct other daily chores on the footpaths or on the
roadsides. It is an eyesore in areas like Akurdi. Both PCMC and PCNTDA
must take steps to reduce this menace.”