HYDERABAD: New, modern, pre-fabricated, electronic toilets for women dotting different parts of the city appears to be no solution for those who wish to relieve themselves. The reason: the placement of these toilets — mostly on footpaths — have been such that women would think twice before heading to one. Apart from the fact that these toilets block the free movement for pedestrians, they are seldom used by women.
Take for instance the ladies electronic-toilet next to a tea shop buzzing with tea drinkers and smokers at Uppal municipal office. Another such toilet is near Kundanbagh park at Begumpet. The toilet is rarely used by park-goers for whom it was meant. To make the toilets easy to find, GHMC had even mapped the toilets on Google maps in 2017.
That one time when Madonna A, an engineering consultant wanted to relieve herself while at Srinagar Colony road near Panjagutta, she spent Rs 670 to access a toilet at a restaurant. “This was before restaurants opened up their toilets for women,” recalls Madonna. “There are not enough public toilets and even if there is one available nearby, using it could be a disgusting affair. Sometimes I hold back the urge for maybe even two hours,” she added.
“Holding your urine for too long can be bad for women’s health and can lead to Urinary Tract Infection (UTIs) and bladder infection,” says Dr Vimee Bindra, consultant gynaecologist, laparoscopic surgeon, Apollo Health City. Recounting her own experiences the doctor said, “Even I don’t use public toilets as they maintain very poor hygiene. The seats are not sterilised and women can face problems there. Often the people who use the toilet don’t clean up well enough for the next person to use. This is a habit that has to be inculcated from childhood,” she added.
Hyderabad has a total of 384 public toilets, of these 109 are pre-fabricated toilets maintained by GHMC and the rest are maintained by private agencies based on PPP model. While public toilets charge either `5 or `10 for their services, the pre-fabricated toilets are free for public use.