HYDERABAD: How would Hyderabad observe the World Toilet Day (November 19), a day to raise awareness on the global sanitation crisis? For a city which houses a populace of around one crore and boasts of being one of the best livable cities, would a meagre 382 public toilets suffice? Questions are many but answers are few.As per the Central Public Health and Environmental Engineering Organisation (CPHEEO) norms, there should be one public toilet for every kilometre of road in a city.
Hyderabad, however, has only 382 public toilets for over 9,000 km of road length, and many of them in abysmal condition. Ironically enough, the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation recently declared itself as an Open Defecation Free city last month when people can still be spotted on railway tracks and other open spaces, attending nature’s call.
Efforts of civic body
Meanwhile, the civic body has invited private operators to partner them, through BOOT route, to build new toilet infrastructure in city. GHMC would provide water and sewerage facilities. If things go as per plan, Hyderabad would have enough number of quality toilets by end of the year. To overcome the shortage of public toilets, GHMC obtained consent of 390 hotels and 285 petrol bunks under its limits for providing free access to their toilets to citizens.
Keeping this in view, Swachh Bharat Mission, in its present year’s Swachh Survekshan guidelines directed all ULBs to notify the petrol bunks and hotels for free access of available toilets to general public.