Increase number of public toilets: Residents

Jaswant Shetra

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, February 21

Residents want the new MC House to increase the number of public toilets in the city, especially in areas where people visit every day. In the absence of public toilets, visitors have no choice but to urinate in the open thereby polluting the area. 

Residents said the number of public toilets in the city is very less as compared to the city population and there was a dire need to increase the number of public toilets in the city. 

For instance, there is no public toilet in Chaura Bazar, where thousands of people visit every day. In the absence of public toilets, visitors answer nature’s call in the open. Like Chaura Bazar, other busy markets of the city, too, lack public toilets. 

Apart from increasing the number of public toilets, proper arrangements should be made to ensure clean public toilets. “It is seen that common people avoid using public toilets due to unhygienic condition. If the administration wishes to promote the use of public toilets, it should make proper arrangements for its cleanliness. To stop open defection, efforts should be made to create awareness among people to use public toilets,” said Pankaj, a city based shopkeeper. 

Another resident said: “It has been seen that people do not use public toilets out of ignorance or due to unhygienic conditions. Therefore, the administration needs to promote the use of public toilets. People need to understand that they must use public toilets instead of answering nature’s call in the open. Some new laws should be introduced to stop open defecation. The authorities shall strictly implement these norms and people found violating rules should be penalised.”

Residentspeak

"The Clock Tower area is one of the most prominent areas of Ludhiana and thousands of people visit here every day. There is not a single public toilet in this area, due to which shopkeepers as well as visitors have no choice but to urinate in the open. The Municipal Corporation shall construct public toilets in the entire city." Inderjit Singh Gulati, president of clock tower shopkeepers' association 

"On the one hand the administration has been talking about making Ludhiana a Smart City, while on the other, the city lacks basic facilities. The administration should provide the facility of public toilets in all busy markets to prevent people from urinating in the open. What kind of Smart City Ludhiana will be if there is no public toilet and people answer the call of nature in the open? After constructing public toilets, the administration should also make sure that they are cleaned on a regular basis." Hardeep Singh, city based shopkeeper 

"There is dearth of public toilets in the city. For example, there is no public toilet in Chaura Bazar, where thousands of people visit every day. As a result, visitors urinate in the open. The new House should construct public toilets on a priority basis to maintain cleanliness in the city." Tirloki Sachdeva, a shopkeeper