The eco-friendly initiative to dispose of bottles has gone for a toss at Tatanagar railway station.

Two plastic bottle shredders — one near the entrance of the A-1 category station and the other on platform one — have been lying defunct for over a fortnight. But no steps are being taken by the railway authorities to repair them.

Jusco, the utility wing of Tata Steel, had donated the two machines in June this year. The cost of each machine is Rs 1.50 lakh. Once a bottle is dropped into the machine, it is crushed and released as fine pieces of plastic. The aim of installing the machines was to create an environment-friendly atmosphere on the station premises and spread awareness on recycling plastic waste.

Sources in the commercial wing of Tatanagar said the machines worked properly for three months. “The machines were of much help to passengers. Used plastic bottles were being discarded instead of being littered on the station premises. However, they have stopped working for over a fortnight now,” said a railway official.

According to Jusco spokesperson Rajesh Rajan, Tata Steel and Jusco had jointly donated the machines to the railway station as part of their CSR initiatives and to improve passenger amenities. “We were only supposed to donate the machines and it was the responsibility of Tatanagar railways under Chakradharpur division to maintain them,” said Rajan, adding the machines need to be cleaned at regular intervals by removing the waste particles.

Senior divisional commercial manager of Chakradharpur railway division Bhaskar promised action. “I wasn’t aware of the machines not working. Thanks for bringing it to my notice. We will soon contact the service engineers and repair them at the earliest,” said Bhaskar.

Passengers are equally hassled. “It is the responsibility of railway authorities to ensure the bottle shredders work properly. Or else the very purpose of the green initiative is defeated,” said Anamika Singh, a resident of Bistupur and frequent traveller.