BENGALURU: If nature comes calling as you ride the city’s “world-class” Metro, be warned: there’s no place to go.
On World Toilet Day, Express travelled on the two routes now operational, M G Road to Byappanahalli, and Sampige Road to Peenya Industrial Estate, for a reality check.
Not one of the 10 stations on the second route has a toilet. On the M G Road- Byappanahalli route, only two stations have toilets, but both stink, and one is inconveniently located.
At the Mantri Square Sampige Road station, a security guard was surprised we were asking for directions to the toilet. “We don’t have any in the station. You could use the one inside the mall,” she said.
At the next stop, Kuvempu Road, the security guard shook his head vigorously. “I have told my boss to put up a sign saying there are no toilets at the station. Every day, so many women ask me this question,” he said.
The security guard at the Sandal Soap Factory station offered an interesting solution.
“Go outside and you will see construction work in progress. You can sneak in there and relieve yourself. That’s what many do,” he said. When this reporter asked if that was safe, he said, “It’s unsafe only at night. Nothing untoward happens during the day.”
The same solution was offered at the Yeshwantpur and Peenya stations by the security guards. “Can’t you just wait till you go home?” one of them said. Hundreds use the Metro to commute to work or for joy rides. The MG Road- Byappanahalli route has become a must on the itinerary of those visiting the city for the first time.
“My wife wanted to use the toilet at the Halasuru station, but we were surprised to know there wasn’t one. We had to reach the MG Road station, walk a good distance and then we found a toilet,” said Pradip Shetty, a regular commuter.
Kirti Rao, a student who travels to Kuvempu Road every day from Sampige Road, is upset at the absence of the basic amenity. “I take the Metro to college and back. Where do I go if I want to use the loo? And what is the point of building huge stations with no toilets?” she said.
The two stations with toilets, M G Road and Indiranagar, have their own problems. “It is in a corner of the station with no signs leading to it. It stinks and the women’s toilet does not even have a latch,” said a woman employee of a private firm.
At the M G Road station, the toilets are located outside the station, at the far ends of the boulevard. “The faucets are broken, there are no tissues and the buildings are dirty,” said Vanessa Fernandes, a regular commuter. The toilets charge `3.
With the advent of winter, Fernandes says the problem will get worse. “As the temperatures drop, we want to use the toilets more often. What are we supposed to do?” she said.
Metro Official Says, ‘Go Home!’
The government preaches to all citizens to build toilets, but clearly, it is not too sensitive to commuter needs.
Asked why toilets are missing from its plans, a Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd official said: “The Metro is used for not more than 45 minutes. Why do you need a public toilet for such a short distance?”
He said the BMRCL might consider toilets along the way if the travel time exceeded an hour.
Commuters can go back home or their work place and use the toilets there, said a BMRCL PR official.
BMRCL managing director Pradeep Singh Kharola was not available for comment.