LUCKNOW, May 24 -- Cooling centres set up by the Lucknow Municipal Corporation (LMC) to provide relief from the severe heatwave are failing to deliver, with several facilities at major locations operating without adequate arrangements. These centres are tents erected at busy spots across the city that provide relief from extreme heat. The LMC was supposed to provide facilities like air coolers, cold drinking water, jaggery, and first-aid kits with medicines to assist people. The first cooling centre was inaugurated by the mayor in the last week of April at the 1090 intersection. However, the lack of facilities has raised concerns as they fail to serve the very purpose they were set up for. Ground realities indicate serious lapses in maintenance and monitoring. A visit to the cooling centres by HT on Friday and Saturday found that facilities promised by the civic body were either missing or non-functional at multiple locations. At the cooling centre near the busy Polytechnic intersection, only four people were found sitting there at around 2:10 pm despite it being one of the city's heavily used routes. The centre lacked a medical aid box and the installed coolers operated without water, blowing hot air instead of cool air. Drinking water arrangements at the location also remained inadequate. Water pots placed for commuters were nearly empty, with only around 20% water remaining. Rishi, who works as a collection executive at a private bank, expressed dissatisfaction over the arrangements. "I came here for the second time expecting relief from the heat, but the situation remains poor. The centre is only providing shade while its main purpose is not being served," he said. The situation was not significantly different at the cooling centre established at the portico of the LMC headquarters. Although the cooler there functioned properly due to the presence of a dedicated person for maintenance, other promised facilities were not available. Similarly, commuters at the cooling centre near the 1090 intersection reported problems identical to those at Polytechnic intersection. Visitors complained that coolers had become ineffective because water tanks had not been refilled, causing them to circulate hot air. Repeated attempts to contact municipal commissioner Gaurav Kumar regarding the issue went in vain....