Shahpur residents raise a stink over razed loo

Although passing by an improperly maintained public toilet may not be a pleasing experience, such a putrid pot’s utility is undeniable, especially at times when nature really wants one to answer her call.

A ruckus created by Shahpur area residents, when a builder demolished a public toilet there, stands as proof to this point.

Public demand has forced the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) to swing into action and announce that a new public toilet will be built at the same spot on an immediate basis.

Hundreds of Shahpur residents poured into the streets and stalled traffic for nearly half an hour to protest the demolition of the public toilet. The residents’ protest was on the verge of turning violent which could do have led to damage of public property including BRTS buses, but municipal councilors and others intervened in the nick of time to subdue the situation.

City-based Shayona Builders had demolished the public toilet which shared a common wall with their property, said sources form the civic body. It should be noted that the AMC’s estate and town development department had issued a notice to the builder for demolishing the same wall, as it had been declared dangerous.

“Generally the owners do not respond to such notices even if it is for a three-storey building, but in this case the reaction was surprisingly prompt. This raises some suspicion,” said a senior official from AMC’s engineering department.

Meanwhile, deputy mayor Darshana Vaghela has assured that a public toilet will be rebuilt at the same spot.

“The toilet was used by many people, so we have decided not to shift it anywhere else,” said Vaghela who represents the Shahpur ward as a municipal councilor.

The civic body has also lodged a non-cognisable complaint against the offending company with the Madhavpura police station.

“We will begin construction work of the public toilet from Saturday and will recover the cost of the rebuild from the builder,” said IK Patel, deputy municipal commissioner of AMC’s central zone. Patel also said that he would look into the notice issued by the estate and town development department regarding the issue.