Thiruvananthapuram: More than cleanliness, women users are concerned about safety in
public toilets in the city, revealed a
surprise inspection of the facilities by mayor V K Prasanth on Wednesday. The mayor visited the Sulabh comfort stations at Palayam, Thampanoor, Putharikandom, Vanchiyoor and General Hospital.
The women users told the health committee officials who accompanied the mayor that they felt unsafe while using public toilets. “The contractor who runs the facility usually arrange the accommodation for the staff who manages it at the toilet complex itself. We were told that the rude behaviour of the staff who are mainly from other states made the women uncomfortable and often they leave without using the toilets,” a health official who was part of the inspection said.
Mayor immediately apprised the contractor about the issue and directed him to ensure a safe and friendly behaviour from toilet staff towards users. The team also visited the community toilet at Chirakkulam.
The users also complained that in some toilets like the one at General Hospital, the staff levied more charges than the prescribed user fee. The health wing has been directed to strictly monitor the user fee collected at public toilets.
The mayor said that the contractors who fail to maintain toilets properly would be avoided. The toilets would be modernized as part of Smart City Project, he said.
As per the figures presented in the assembly, corporation paints a dismal picture in terms of providing an adequate number of toilets. The civic body does not run a single toilet free of user charge. There are nine toilets in the city which are maintained on pay-and-use mode. The civic body itself had made it on record that the number of toilets is inadequate considering the need, going by the data presented by LSG minister K T Jaleel in the assembly.
The corporation’s efforts to increase the number of toilets had gone in vain due to lack of land.
Mayor V K Prasanth during the surprise inspection on Wednesday