Toilets in govt offices filthy, cry for attention

Guwahati: The toilets in several government offices in Guwahati, including at the district transport officer and deputy commissioner, are in a sorry state due to lack of proper maintenance of hygiene and cleanliness.
The district transport office located in the city’s Betkuchi is one of the most visited offices in the state, and is also the most unhygienic place that poses the risk of spreading various diseases. The washrooms in the building were found to be in a pathetic condition with no water facility and toilet seats filled with feaces. Dark spit stains of gutkha also filled the walls in many parts of the building.
Every morning at around 6, the office gets thronged with people who come for driving tests to get their licences. However, the other units of the office usually start from 10 am, while most of the employees reach by 11 am.
Jonali Das visited the office to appear for her driving test for a learner’s licence on Monday. Her visit to the toilet on the ground floor of the building ended up as a horror story. “The toilet was filthy. Walls and corners of the toilet were painted with dark spit stains. The toilet seat was filled with feaces. There was no provision of water in the toilet. I felt like vomiting instantly. It was not a toilet but a hub of lethal viruses. One will surely get infected,” said Jonali.
An official said the office does not have any monitoring mechanism as of now, but will take up the matter seriously.
Meanwhile, the toilet at the DC office of the Kamrup (Metro) district was also found to be in a pathetic condition. “We often talk about clean and hygienic public toilets in the city. But we don’t talk about the need of a hygienic toilet for the visitors in a government office. The state government should give directions to the departments to take necessary steps for proper maintenance of toilets,” a visitor to the DC office said.