BERHAMPUR: Berhampur city was declared open defecation-free in 2018. Two years later, the Berhampur Municipal Corporation (BeMC) was awarded ODF++ ranking in the Swachhata Sarvekshan (cleanliness survey) conducted by the Centre.
But the acute shortage of functional public toilets and garbage strewn in the open belie the very notion of sanitation.
The city has a population of 6 lakh, excluding a floating population of over one lakh. While most households in the city have their own toilets, people residing in slums use embankments of ponds to defecate.
However, it’s those who come to the city for work on a daily basis who suffer the most. In the absence of functional public toilets, people are forced to urinate in the open.
The BeMC has constructed a considerable number of community toilets across the city and keeps adding to the number every year but many of the toilets remain closed due to lack of maintenance, particularly shortage of water. As expected, women suffer the most as they have no option but to relieve themselves in the open.
The BeMC has spent crores of rupees on various projects to keep the city clean. But several toilets including the one at Canal Street, have been razed and the authorities are not even aware of it. Santosh Behera, a resident of Canal Street rues that a toilet, constructed in 2015, was locked two years back. It has now been demolished. The ones still standing are locked and the ones that are functional lie in a dilapidated condition.
The civic body was reportedly sanctioned over Rs 1 crore in the first phase of Swachh Bharat Mission. The civic body initially constructed 23 toilets and the number went up to 62. Eight more public toilets are in the pipeline. But the state of affairs depicts a sorry picture with urinals at several locations including Bijipur, Bada Bazaar and Zenana Hospital demolished for reasons best known to the civic body officials. What’s interesting is that BeMC officials have no record of toilets that no longer exist.
As per records, BeMC spends over Rs 5 lakh per month for maintenance of 40 community toilets which is carried out by self-help groups. This apart, the civic body pays around Rs 3 lakh to Sulabh International, a social service organisation. Apart from paying for the public toilets, BeMC has its own around 12 sanitation staff who are paid over Rs 4 lakh towards salary. A look at the figures suggests the civic body spends over Rs 12 lakh per month on maintenance and upkeep of community toilets some of which do not even exist.
BeMC commissioner, Bhabani Shankar Mishra said, so far, he has not received any complaint about public toilets and if any is received, appropriate action will be taken.