BHUBANESWAR: A serious dearth of public toilets notwithstanding, the existing ones in the Capital City are in a pitiable condition, a spot survey and user appraisal of the amenities has revealed.
Toilets across major locations of the Capital scored a miserable three on a scale of 10, evaluating different parameters right from cleanliness and hygienic conditions to space, surroundings, security perceptions, pricing and allied facilities. Not a single toilet in the city scored above five.
There are around 100 public toilet facilities in the city even as civic authorities have planned to establish 200 more soon. The study was conducted in 19 toilet facilities at major thoroughfares and near vital establishments like railway station, bus stand, Secretariat, Fortune Tower, Nalco Square and Nandan Kanan which have substantial floating population.
Even as the facilities were surveyed by city-based Local Governance Network (LGN), around 100 people who used the facilities between 7 am and 11.30 am were asked to give their appraisal of the toilets.
A whopping 83 per cent of the users replied in negative when asked if they would visit the toilets again. Of the rest 17 per cent, who said they would when required, 97 per cent were women for whom there is no other option. While 89 per cent of the users were first timers, 95 per cent of them said this was their last visit to a public toilet in the city.
The toilets were given a resounding thumbs down in terms of cleanliness and safety issues.
The toilets were not only dirty and stinking but also dark and congested. The female users were more vocal about the conditions.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made Swachh Bharat Abhiyan and programmes his top priority to ensure toilets in every household and public places. But it should not focus on increasing number only. You may build lakhs of toilets but, if they are unusable, it will serve no purpose. Steps should be taken to properly manage the vital public amenities,” co-founder of LGN Piyush Ranjan Rout said.
Pricing at the toilets is also a bottleneck. Though the price is as low as ` one to ` five for using the urinals, problems often erupt over change. The use of urinals should be made free as fee of ` one causes hassles, Rout said.