Toilets without doors at Sec 46 govt school

Naina Mishra
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, November 4

Students and teachers at Government Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 46, have no option but to use the toilets without doors.

Students and staff members feel embarrassed to use the newly constructed washrooms. They come in groups whenever they have to use the washroom.

The Tribune Correspondent visited the washrooms and spoke with girl students to know their plight. A Class XII girl student requesting anonymity said, “Even though the washrooms are newly built, they are of no use to us. There has been no change in the situation ever since July.”

She said the school authorities kept telling them that the doors would be placed soon, but to no avail. “Whenever we have to use toilet, we ask our fellow mates to stand outside. This is obnoxious and the authorities are not doing anything about it,” she said.

A boy student said they were accustomed to going to bathrooms this way as there was no alternate ssolution.

However, the school head blamed the UT Engineering Department for the inconvenience. Principal Darshanjit Singh said, “It has been more than three months that we have been requesting the Engineering Department to place temporary or old doors for the time being. They blame the contractor for not providing doors on time. How can students be sensitised on cleanliness with a situation like this? I call the authorities in the Engineering Department daily to ask about the doors.”

Sub Divisional Officer Lalit Vashishta said, “We had paid the contractor in advance. The work has not yet started because of the delay on the part of the contractor. It will start in three days.”

Boys’ toilets sans urinals

• The boys toilets do not have urinals. When contacted, UT assistant architect Gagandeep said the design was approved in 2015. The motive behind making toilets without urinals was to curb vandalism. “Children of government schools vandalise urinals. So, we were asked to design toilets that cannot be impaired.”
• A lot of teachers and students have expressed disgust over the new design of toilets. “It is unhygienic and stench keeps emanating from the washrooms all the time,” the principal said.