EVEN AS the Panchkula Municipal Corporation went to town to declare itself as “open defecation free plus”, which implies that the city has not only got rid of open defecation but also has an adequate number of well-equipped public toilets, the ground reality is messy to say the least.
ODF Plus is a level above the ODF status, which the civic body had earlier claimed to have achieved. The ODF Plus protocol provided by the Swachh Bharat Mission focuses on sustaining community/ pubic toilets usage by ensuring their functionality, cleanliness and maintenance.
A reality check conducted by the Newsline team found that it was yet to achieve even the simple ODF status. In many parts of the city, people could be found answering the call of nature in the open. And the less said the better about the condition of public toilets erected by the roadsides. Many of them were an apology for a toilet with no basic equipment such as cisterns, flush, or taps. At many place, lights did not work and in one location the water tank was missing.
In the absence of water, the toilets are rarely put to use, locals complained. This was true not only of toilets installed in the periphery but also of those on the central sectors such as Sector 5, where two toilets on the road were without power, and one didn’t even have a cistern.
A mobile toilet van, requisitioned from the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation, which was placed near these toilets also didn’t have water. In Sector 15, the two toilet ‘kiosks’ erected at the light point towards Amartex were without both cisterns and water tank.
Gurcharan, who sells helmets near these two toilets, said three months back they informed an MC team about the poor water supply only to have the team remove the entire tank. “They told us they require the water tank at Sector 16 but we never got a replacement. Since then there is no water. This toilet raises a stench, so we prefer to keep the doors closed,” he said.
He was also sore about the placement of the toilets at the busy light point. “People wanting to use the toilet park their vehicle near the lights, much to the inconvenience of other commuters.’’
Two public toilets ahead of the gurdwara towards Sector 15 also had no water cisterns. A visitor who came to use the toilet returned without using it when he saw its condition. The situation was even worse at the two public toilets in Sector 14 behind Municipal Corporation’s building. Bhoop Singh, who lives in a shanty near by, said few use these toilets due to the stench. These toilets too were without a flush. “Ye tanki lagi to hai par isme paani aata hi nahi,” Bhoop Singh said.
In the last one year, Panchkula MC set up around 150 public toilets in the city. Panchkula Swachh Bharat Mission officer Priyanka, when contacted, refused to comment on this issue. When told about the messy state of the public toilets, she said, “It’s fine but I am not permitted to speak to the press directly.”
Sulabh International, an agency, has been given the maintenance of these toilets. Pramod, the vice-chairman of the agency, said, “What do we do, people steal the cisterns and taps from the toilets.” When asked about the poor maintenance of the toilets, he said, “Our safaikaramcharis do carry out cleaning. I will check if they were not cleaned.” Pramod also said that some toilet blocks are under renovation and boards had been put up.
MC celebrates its new status
Panchkula Municipal Corporation had on Tuesday claimed that Panchkula has been declared “Open Defecation Free Plus”. MC Commissioner Rajesh Jogpal said they had been given this status by the Quality Council of India.
This certification, he said, will help them in the Swachh Survekshan this year.
“Swachhta teams conducted a surprise inspection in areas where Panchkula had claimed that it is ODF free. They checked whether basic facilities required in the toilets are there or not. Also, it was checked if there was any leakage, proper lights in the toilets,” a release by Panchkula MC stated.
It was specified that the tag was achieved “despite having short staff.” MC Commissioner Rajesh Jogpal said that after securing the ODF Plus ranking, MC will aim for ODF Plus Plus ranking. He said that the work of taking feedback from residents is going on.
