Since it opened a month ago, Jayakodi has used the community toilet complex near her home in the Madrasi Basti of Lajpat Nagar’s Jal Vihar nearly every day. She is part of a small section of residents of the cluster, which has about 1,300 jhuggis, who have switched from relieving themselves on a railway track that runs along the slum to the 110-seater prefab toilet complex made by the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB).
“It’s fine. It could be cleaner, but that’s not the caretaker’s fault. It’s our people who don’t keep the toilets clean,” she says of the new toilets.
Rail track option
Till the toilet complex was inaugurated by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on June 22, the residents of the slum had no option but to defecate on and along the railway tracks. Now, even though the government has provided an option, which costs ₹1 per visit, many residents still prefer to go outdoors. The caretaker, Umesh Kumar, says the toilets get 300 visits a day, with many sections remaining cordoned off for lack of demand.
A toilet complex run by Delhi Urvan Shekter Improvement Board at Madrasi Basti; Lajpat Nagar. | Photo Credit: V. Sudershan
“People feel scared when they go inside the boxes [cubicles] because they are used to defecating in the open,” says 22-year-old Manju, another Madrasi Basti resident who uses the new complex.
The cubicles are tightly packed and lack the kind of ventilation that would make the residents comfortable.
“Some people will never switch. We have been going to the railway tracks all our lives, and look at us, we haven’t gone bad,” says Jayakodi, as she makes a claw with her hand to mimic a deformity.
With the inauguration of the Madrasi Basti complex and others in the area that day, Mr. Kejriwal had said that the DUSIB had made more than 10,000 toilets in the past two years and would make all Delhi slums free of open defecation by March 2018.
Residents of Lajpat Nagar still prefer to relieve themselves on railway tracks out of habit. | Photo Credit: V. Sudershan
Maintenance issue
But the experience of Madrasi Basti and other slums around the Capital shows that it’s not enough to just build toilets. Getting residents to use them will be the next challenge.
Since the DUSIB only constructs toilets and hands over operation and maintenance to NGOs, funding for awareness programmes and cleaning is not uniform across the board. Some toilet complexes struggle to pay the salary of a single caretaker, while others are able to employ cleaners and carry out sustained outreach.
Awareness drive
Opened in June 2015, the DUSIB toilet complex at C-7, Sultanpuri slum cluster has managed to attract users from different areas. The toilet is run by students of Delhi University’s Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies. Regular door-to-door drives and colourful murals on the walls of the complex remind slum residents of the need for hygiene.
Grafitti on the walls of toilet complexes in Sultanpuri encourages to use the facility. | Photo Credit: V. Sudershan
A municipal park that borders the complex on one side used to be the preferred spot for residents to defecate, says Pramod Singh, the caretaker of the toilets. The complex used to see just about 35 users when it first opened and now has about 500 visitors. About 60 families even pay for the monthly pass to use the toilets, he adds.
Grafitti on the walls of toilet complexes in Sultanpuri encourages to use the facility. | Photo Credit: V. Sudershan
Underutilised facility
“If we have a clean toilet, why would we sit outside,” says Anoop, a pass-holder.
However, not everyone thinks like that. In neighbouring Mangolpuri, a 42-seater toilet complex inaugurated in February this year remains underutilised. The caretaker, Biju Kumar, says drug addicts in the area tend to frequent the complex, locking themselves into cubicles meant for the disabled.
“We try to stop them but we cannot deny people the use of toilets. We have even found syringes in the toilet after they use it. What can we do,” he asks.
Safety concern
Safety and security is a concern for caretakers and users at two complexes at the Sanjay Colony slum in Okhla. These complexes were renovated about two years ago. The caretaker, Bittu, says users tend to break doors and steal taps.
At Okhla's Sanjay Colony, safety remains a concern at community toilets which often get users who damage property and steal taps. | Photo Credit: V. Sudershan
“Sometimes the locals use our water tank for washing their cattle. We don’t say much as we don’t want to get beaten up,” he says.
Difficult task
With irregular and inadequate cleaning, lack of awareness and questions of security, the government’s push for community toilets would be incomplete without addressing the concerns.
Bipin Rai, DUSIB member (expert), admits that it’s “challenging” and says the government is working with NGOs to bridge the gaps.
“We are working on getting the users to engage. We want them to have a say, they should be able to question the staff if the toilet is not clean. We are getting NGOs that work on the ground to spread awareness too,” said Mr. Rai.