CHENNAI: Its 5:30 pm on a weekday, and as people walk by a public-toilet a few metres away from a mall in Vadapalani, their discomfort is clearly visible. Shanmathi, who gets a share auto every day from a point near the public restroom, says, “I don’t know if they clean it inside. We cover our nose every time we cross it. And, making it worse at times are men who smoke outside the toilets. They do it when the police aren’t around and no one really complaints,” she rues.
With an overflowing garbage bin outside the toilet and some men defecate on the walls nearby, despite a public toilet just a few feet away, it makes you wonder about the lack of awareness on sanitation, and also about the adequacy, accessibility and availability of ‘good public toilets’ in the city.
There are predominant types of toilet models that remain the main focus of sanitation programmes — women sanitary complexes, anganwadis (government-run day-care centres) and community toilets. “A good toilet should have facility for bathing, washing, and electricity; it should also be accessible to everyone.
To renovate and rebuild some toilets in the State that are not usable, we have piloted programmes around municipality wards and rural areas to provide them with quality public toilet,” shares Princess Beula, deputy general manager Hand-in-Hand, an NGO that has piloted 12 toilets in Kancheepuram district. They’re also planning to renovate dysfunctional toilets at Thiruvotriyur.
With most public toilets built in ‘a corner and lack safety’, several women have requested a ‘SOS-button’ within toilets to alert both the corporation and the service provider in case of emergency. “Apart from having necessary items like a sanitary napkin dispenser and incinerator in women’s toilets, there is a need to have a distress signal. We have seen liquor bottles and cigarette butts inside the stalls. Though there hasn’t been any case of harassment so far, how can someone use it for such activities?” asks a 25-year-old resident of Saidapet.
So, how does one tackle this? “It’s the responsibility of the local service provider to volunteer for the safety of users and alert officials whenever needed,” opines Beula.
From good fencing to having a kitchen-garden that’s a few metres around such toilets, it can be done she says, “But this isn’t possible in all places. Considering the location of most public toilets in the city, which are built along walls of other buildings or on a busy street, to get space is tough. But such designs can be planned in the future or in rural segments,” she shares.
While the design of a good toilet depends on the ratio of population, including Person with Disability (PwD), all this can be done only through a proper system of segregation and mapping. “These toilets should be integrated as part of an area’s design and shouldn’t be a separate structure. Also, there should be a check list inside the toilets for both the public and the service provider on areas that have to be checked and maintained, like in the case of toilets in five-star hotels,” explains Raj. For example, if a light bulb breaks…if the flush doesn’t work or a pipe leaks/breaks…what can you, or the volunteers do, as a ‘first aid’ before professional help arrives?
These are things that can be taught well. The solution is that we need an experienced group to maintain it. We have to get the public involved, as it’s not just the work of one person but the neighbourhood. Also, there should be clarity on grievance and redressal mechanism, which should be made easy to the public,” he shares.
Next comes accessibility and Deepak Nathan, a PwD says “We don’t depend on public toilets as they are not at all disabled-friendly. Just because there are ramps, it doesn’t make it disabled-friendly. The damaged road near the toilet makes it difficult for us to even enter it.
And once we enter it, is there space to move the wheelchair? What about people who use crutches, people with intellectual disabilities who need a second person to help them inside…is there enough space and the facility for them? It’s a wide spectrum that needs to be addressed here and the toilets lack standards,” he avers. “In toilets that lack hygiene and are difficult for an ordinary person to use, how do authorities expect us to use it?”
From soap water on the floor, bathing system, and the design of the flooring itself is at fault. Uma Maheshwari, a PwD, doesn’t use crutches nor a wheelchair — she crawls and she says that using a public toilet is a nightmare for people like her.
“Imagine placing your hand on a floor that lacks hygiene and has water all over. That’s how people like us use these public toilets. And it becomes tough when you travel for long hours. You don’t find any good public toilets enroute and we are forced to control our urge…that’s not easy!” she rues.
Thillai Rajan, professor, department of Management Studies, IIT Madras, and his team, worked on Policy Analysis of WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene).
He breaks down the characteristics on good sanitation and accessibility, and explains, “Earlier, the design of a toilet and ensuring the construction of more number of toilets was the dominant parameter. Then they looked at segmenting the population and standardising the toilets for equal access.”
But now with WASH policies, he opines that a new paradigm is emerging — a lifecycle approach. “People who are in different cycles have different needs; a child’s need differs from that of an adult, PwD, senior citizens, etc. So, you have to approach people in different segments depending on their cycle while building facilities,” he shares.
Segmenting, identifying barriers and coming up with strategies is the need of the hour. “But, ultimately, the major barriers are not clearly identified and it leads to lack of ideal strategies,” he adds.