BENGALURU: After having recorded its best ever Swachh performance only a month ago, Bengaluru cuts a sorry figure when it comes to public
sanitation facilities
. The city, with a
population
of slightly over 1 crore, has only 907
public toilets
, according to the latest data made available by
Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike
(BBMP). That would translate into every 11,000 Bengalureans having to manage with one public toilet.
No consolation can be drawn from the fact that the 907 toilets are spread across Bengaluru's 800-sqkm area.
This doesn't translate into more than a toilet for every sqkm area, as 181 toilets are reserved for the civic workers (pourakarmikas) who keep the city clean and tidy.
An analysis of BBMP data on public toilets shows that Bengaluru has seven types of public toilets across its eight administrative zones. While there are only 360 public toilets, the civic body has also set up six community toilets for groups of households that don't have access to individual toilets. This apart, the city has 161 e-toilets at major commercial locations, 17 modular toilets, and 10 eco-friendly and precast toilets. Further, 172 Indira Canteens also have toilets used by the public.
But if you are wondering about the condition of these toilets, a big disappointment awaits as there is no end to the complaints. "Public toilets for women in Bengaluru are nothing but a mess. Shortage of water, poor lighting and arrogant staff, these toilets have all the problems. People just avoid these toilets as a result," said Bharati Shetty, BJP MLC.
'372 more toilets planned'
On Friday, deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar admitted the glaring disparity between the population growth and public sanitation facilities. "We're planning to build 372 additional public toilets in the coming days. Private investors have also evinced interest in building toilets in Bengaluru. We'll discuss with them and build efficient toilets," he said, adding that recently Bengaluru secured the 'Water Plus' distinction in the latest Swachh rankings. "Water Plus is a parameter to assess the sanitation facility and Bengaluru has scored well," he said.
"A total of 15 state-of-the-art model eco-friendly precast toilets with five-year maintenance will be built under the first phase of Shubra Bengaluru, and 46 such toilets will be built in the second phase. A total of 246 new public toilets will be built under SIP (structural insulated panels) and 15 more community toilets are also on the cards. Under Amrutha Nagarothana, another 50 toilets (restrooms) have been planned for civic workers as well," a senior BBMP official said.
Shivakumar also revealed that tenders have already been floated for building 100 she-toilets in places where there is huge footfall of women, including garment-textile hubs, and shopping areas on a public-private partnership model. "These will have feeding rooms, resting rooms, mobile charging points, sanitary vending machines, automatic sensors, solar lighting, security system and other facilities," the deputy CM said.
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