Number of loos don’t add up

Construction of new toilets has become a tough task as local residents and traders are unwilling to have them in their vicinity.

Lack of water and maintenance of toilets are not the only issues citizens are facing in the city. Their numbers too are painfully wanting.

While the Central Government’s guidelines stipulate that there should be a public toilet available for every 500 meters, the city sprawling across 650 square kilometres has just 382 toilets, functional and defunct included. They are expected to serve a population of 77 lakh according to Census 2011, and heaving to reach the one crore mark as per unofficial estimates.

Of the 382 toilets, 109 are pre-fabricated, most of them not maintained properly. The ‘Pay & Use’ toilets include 132 built in private partnership, and 46 run by Sulabh International. Fifty-seven are engineering toilets which are free, and 15 are ‘She Toilets’ constructed recently.“Wherever the floating population is more, GHMC is maintaining the toilets. Circle level officials should take care of maintenance and monitoring of the privately run toilets too,” clarifies an official from the Health & Sanitation wing.

Construction of new toilets, as per his admission, has become a tougher task, with the local residents and traders unwilling to have them in their vicinity.

“Many organisations such as Sulabh are ready for construction and maintenance of toilets. But we are unable to provide them space anywhere,” the official says.

However, the moot question is, if the government is fair in its expectation of payment from the poor for using the public toilet, while those who can afford to pay have free access to toilets in their homes and offices.

GHMC claims that they have convinced owners of 290 petrol pumps, and 395 hotels to open their toilets for general public. However, there is no stocktaking of their compliance so far. Sign boards have not yet been set up, though the officials say the process is on.