By Sree Harsha Nrusimha
Hyderabad: The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation has promised to set up clean and actively functioning public toilets for some time in the city. The civilian body finally visible installed several new public toilet cubicles for that purpose. But it all seems like an eye wash, because across Hyderabad, hardly any of those toilets work.
The mere erection of the infrastructure without proper maintenance and water supply has turned the project, launched under the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan and the Clean Hyderabad initiative, into a massive waste of public money. The GHMC actually promised last year to install and maintain thousands of new public restrooms to keep the city clean.
Siasat.com traveled around a few random places in the city to understand the working conditions and use of the GHMC-run public restrooms, and the situation was extremely pathetic.
Not only are the toilets dysfunctional, but there is also literally public feces right next to or behind these new rectangular dysfunctional toilet bowls across Hyderabad. A cursory glance at some of these toilets in parts of Hyderabad shows that commuters and street vendors are actively discouraged from using these unhygienic and, many times, obsolete facilities.
Tayamma, who lives near the RTA Kondapur office, spoke about how the public toilet next to the office is in an unusable situation due to no water supply and improper maintenance by the authorities. “It is mostly used by commuters who pass by and they struggle because there is no water inside,” Tayamma said.
The road leading to Gachibowli and Hitech city, two of the busiest centers of IT and the public toilet maintenance here is extremely discouraging. Special toilets for the physically handicapped are also scarce. Dysfunctionality and the lack of will to understand the challenges facing commuters, including the physically handicapped, seems to be the case across the city.
From Miyapur X roads to Kondapur, Madinaguda to Lingampally, public restrooms are mostly in a pitiful state. Many lack proper water supply, some are in a state of total disorder, some have never been open once after setting it up, and most of them are rarely cleaned. The situation was no different, even in parts of Secunderabad and the Old City.
The toilet with spinning chimney at Miyapur X roads does not tell a whole other story. “It has been locked since the locking took place and no one has come after it to reopen it and put it back in a functioning toilet,” said Sreenu, a tea stall owner next to the abandoned facility.
The only thing working on this toilet is the rotating chimney hood that works on wind power. Inside, there is garbage everywhere that includes empty water bottles, low dirt and plastic covers. Despite repeated attempts to obtain a comment from various GHMC officials, including the additional commissioner (sanitation), Siasat.com could not get any response.
Source: The Siasat Daily