CUTTACK: Hundreds of protests are staged across the state daily but some stand out for their sheer innovation. Agitation by a city-based non-political outfit against failure of Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) seeking toilets installed along Mahanadi ring road in the city operations was one such example.
The protest named ‘Mayor nku commode bheti’ was staged by Subhas Sangathan led by its president Asutosh Das and secretary Tapan Satapathy in front of CMC office. The agitators carried a commode (western toilet bowl) to attract the attention of the civic body towards toilets in the city that are lying unused.
The outfit alleged as many as four toilets were constructed along Mahanadi ring road ahead of FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup event at Barabati Stadium. Even as the Central government constructs toilets at a cost of Rs 20,000 under Swachh Bharat Mission, the CMC allegedly spent approximately Rs 25 lakh for each unit. Though 11 months have already passed since the toilets were installed, they are yet to be opened for use by people.
“The mayor had assured us that the toilets would be opened within two months. But he did not keep his promise and this forced us to stage the protest again. We want the toilets to be made functional before Baliyatra,” said Das.
Earlier, the outfit had protested holding buckets and mugs in front of the locked up toilets to press for the demand under ‘Balti Mug Abhiyan’. It also staged a protest by performing ‘Vastu Puja’ in front of the toilets.