Public toilets missing in Faridabad

Bijendra Ahlawat

Faridabad, the most populated city of Haryana, lacks public conveniences. The city has been selected under the Smart City project but it still does not have public toilets in markets and shopping areas, which are visited by thousands of people every day.

“While only a handful of shopping malls that have come up in the past couple of decades have washrooms, all prominent markets located in the NIT, Ballabgarh, Old Faridabad and even authorised shopping centres situated in residential sectors carved out by HUDA have no public toilets,” says AK Gaur, a social activist and senior citizen. Residents, especially women and children, face inconvenience when they go for shopping. 

Gaur says that neither market associations nor the authorities concerned have ever taken the issue seriously. “While men can be seen peeing on walls or in the parking areas of the markets, women feel inconvenience in the absence of public toilets,”  says Ramesh Kumar, a shopkeeper in the NIT area. He claims that none of the five main markets in the NIT area has a good public toilet. Shoppers can be seen requesting for toilets that are available only in restaurants, hotels or private residences. 

Pinaki Ranjan, a resident of Sector 86, says that it is an important issue that has been ignored for long. Unless the toilet facility is provided, the whole concept of civic infrastructure comes to naught. The city has a population of 20 lakh and has been included in the much publicised Smart City project involving several hundred crores of rupees. He adds the first thing that should be done is to make a provision of smart toilets at every kilometer, so that the city can maintain proper cleanliness and hygiene.

“Despite several reminders and requests, a public toilet that the Municipal Corporation Faridabad (MCF) had constructed in the NH-3 market of the NIT area several years ago is lying closed for the past several months,” claims a spokesperson for the local Vyapar Mandal. 

“Men urinate on the wall that separates the residential area from the shopping area in the Sector 28 market, leading to a foul smell and inconvenience to women,” says Chanchal Mittal, a resident.

“The condition is no different in the upscale markets or shopping centres of Sector 14 and 15, which are claimed to be posh residential areas,”  says Ashok Gulati, a franchisee owner in the Sector 14 market. 

“Many clients ask for public conveniences, but we feel ashamed to tell them there is no such facility available in the market,” he says. The construction of public toilets in the Sector 14 market is hanging fire for the past several months.

Rajeev Sharma, Executive Engineer, HUDA (HSVP), says that toilets have been constructed in shopping centres in many sectors. As these toilets have been handed over to the MCF, he does not have information about their current condition. 

DR Bhaskar, Chief Engineer, MCF, says that toilets exist in several markets, and the work is going on to provide the facility in other areas. It is likely to be completed in the next few months. At the same time, several toilets are lying defunct, he adds.