Haritha Karma Sena to ensure clean toilets for all

LSGD Minister M V Govindan has given strict orders to the local bodies to take immediate steps to improve the conditions of public comfort stations and toilets.
illus: express
illus: express

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: With complaints mounting about ill-maintained and unhygienic public toilet complexes run by municipalities and corporations across Kerala, the local self-government department (LSGD) has come up with strict corrective measures

In an effort to ensure sustainable cleaning and upkeep of the public comfort stations, the LSGD is planning to deploy the services of Haritha Karma Sena, Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) workers and Kudumbashree members in the state. “In cities like Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram, the number of toilets is more and Haritha Karma Sena can be deployed for cleaning the toilets every two hours. Haritha Karma Sena and Kudumbashree groups have their own vehicles and we will be providing modern cleaning equipment to them. They will go around the city and clean the toilets. This will help ensure hygienic and clean toilets round the clock. But, in other towns, this may not work and the local bodies can engage MGNREGS or Kudumbashree to ensure toilets are clean,” said a senior official of Suchitwa Mission.

LSGD Minister M V Govindan has given strict orders to the local bodies to take immediate steps to improve the conditions of public comfort stations and toilets. The minister’s intervention has come close on the heels of complaints pouring in regarding the unhygienic Sulabh toilet complex on the Museum premises in Thiruvananthapuram.

Recently, the minister had posted on his official social media handle asking the public to register their grievances relating to unhygienic public comfort stations to ensure swift intervention. So far, the authorities have received 27 complaints from across the state. According to official sources, most of the complaints are related to public comfort stations in cities maintained by municipalities and corporations. Suchitwa Mission is setting up around 1,300 ‘Take a Break’ public toilet complexes across the state.

As many as 80 such facilities will be inaugurated this month by Govindan. “Around 350 ‘Take a Break’ toilet facilities are already functional and, this year, we are aiming to complete 500 more. The projects are in various stages of implementation,” said a senior official of Suchitwa Mission.

Many local bodies are upgrading the existing toilet facilities to Take a Break facility with the financial aid from Suchitwa Mission. “Currently, local bodies are auctioning the public comfort stations and it’s a revenue generating asset for them. But unfortunately, the upkeep of the facilities is not happening and this approach should change,” said a senior official of LSGD.

There are three types of Take-a Break facility and the premium ones have features including breast feeding room, rest room, cloak room, cafeteria etc. “It would be easy to make the premium facilities profitable. But some of them are located in areas where the revenue generation is an issue and the local bodies will have to provide financial assistance for such units,” said an official of Suchitwa Mission.

Related Stories

No stories found.
The New Indian Express
www.newindianexpress.com