Speak up Delhi: For Swachh Mission, unhygienic public washrooms get no takers

There is no lack of unsavoury words to describe the state of public toilets in Delhi: Unhygienic, unsanitary or plain dirty. A common sight at most of these public washrooms is women entering with their noses and mouths covered. An SDMC order says that one can go to any hotel or restaurant to relieve themselves, but if that option is out of question, people have only two alternatives — go in the open or use the public washroom.

Even as the Swachh Bharat Mission was initiated in 2014 in a bid to free India from open defecation, there seems to have been no headway in the quality of options for citizens to use instead. The public toilets are dirty or have no water or are just shuttered for use due to restrictive timings. "I can never use these public toilets due to their pathetic condition. I am always scared of getting any bacterial infection in case I use them. Also, I don't know if they are properly cleaned or not," said Rashmi, a shopper who frequents Connaught Place.

Another issue plaguing these washrooms is the lack of attendants to assist users. When DNA went on a recce of some of the washrooms, like Vijay Chowk, Connaught Place and AIIMS, most were dirty and were out of water. The situation for women is worse as public toilets for the other gender are filthy and the risk of infection very high. Ask the women commuters what they do when they need to urinate while out of home, all said that they prefer to go to a mall or restaurant rather than opt for these unhygienic public washrooms. Tourists face a hard time as well, especially in the night as the washrooms are not operated round the clock. "There were no locks in the washroom cubicles and the taps were leaking when I went to one of these public loos. Our safety is a major concern then as no women attendant can be seen in any public washrooms," said Deepika, a Delhi University student.

At the other end of the issue are workers employed for the upkeep of these washrooms. "How many times I will clean the washroom? It gets dirty after every 10 minutes. I am the only one who takes care of both the men and women washrooms and due to the heavy crowd, it is impossible for me to always keep it clean,"said Surjoy, the attendant at the AIIMS public toilet.

So, will the government provide viable alternatives to the public as they march towards their Swachh Bharat Mission? That remains to be seen.

VOICES

I went to public toilet at AIIMS once. It was so dirty that I did not use it at all. Even the sanitary napkin vending machine was not working. Clean toilets are a basic necessity and if we are struggling for that, then I wonder what to expect from the government.
— Priscilla Diaz, Marketing Professional

No safety measures can be seen at these washrooms as there is no female attendant there. I had a bad experience when I was in a public washroom and a man came outside. I panicked and ran from there. Since then, I avoid going to public toilets.
— Jaya Bhardwaj, shop-owner at Connaught Place

There should be more seats in the loo, as those who have medical problems face difficulties in going to these public toilets. Local bodies completely fail when it comes to on-spot assistance.
— Shakuntla Devi, a shopper at CP

I am an IT employee and have night shifts, so the situation is worse for me as public toilets are closed after 10 pm. I emphasise this because the government should keep the washrooms open at night as well.
— Surbhi Sabharwal, IT Employee

Apart from being filthy, public toilets are not safe for men either. When government says we should not defecate in the open, they should also think about maintaining these toilets and about their restrictive timings.
— Mohd. Danish, a restaurant owner

I have a two-year-old daughter and whenever I travel, changing her is a nightmare for me. I have not found a single washroom that I can call clean or even dry. There are no facilities for a mother to change their kids in these public toilets.
— Isha Sharma, homemaker

EXPERT SPEAK

We are working to make the toilets accessible round-the-clock as opposed to the current 7 am-11 pm window. We also have women assistants across the ladies washrooms and ensure there is no negligence regarding safety. I agree there is an issue of proper signage, but work is in process. We have even ensured that some washrooms can be located on Google Maps. Right now, maximum efforts are to curb the sanitation woes of slums.
— Rakesh Chandra, Controller, Delhi State Sulabh