City toilets hit by water crisis

 Even more surprising is the fact that the public urinal is one of the few functioning Nirmala Sauchalaya funded by the Infosys Foundation.

Public toilets in some of the oldest and perhaps busiest areas of Bangalore like the City Market, Kalasipalya, and other areas have been hit by the water crisis. The public urinal in Kalasipalya too has been a casualty of this water shortage. According to Venkatesh Murthy, the toilet supervisor, they order a water tanker every three days because of the irregular water supply from the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB). 

In a City which is reeling under the pressure of not having enough public urinals, apart from water shortage, the maintenance staff of these urinals also have to deal with frequent power cuts. "We are not responsible for the power cuts, but we have to put up with public anger," said Venktu, keeper another toilet.

Infosys Foundation trustee, Sudha Murthy while speaking to Deccan Herald did not wish to elaborate more on the maintenance of the Nirmala Sauchalaya as it was already handed over to the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP).

“A lot of people do not pay properly, so maintenance would become a problem. However, I have not been involved with the Nirmala toilets after they have been built. I am not very aware of its condition right now, so I cannot comment on it.” 

The BBMP in its justification has stated that the water crisis has hampered the functioning of as many as 15-20 public urinals under the Nirmala Sauchalyas in the City. “It has been over a year since there was any survey done over the functioning of these public urinals. About 15 to 20 of these urinals over the past year have been found non-functional due to water crisis,” informed a Palike official.

The BBMP has been working at the zonal level to get some sort of water supply provided to these 20 public urinals but to no avail. “We had provided them with borewells in these areas but they too have run dry. Perhaps we will have to review them once again to find a different water source,” informed the official.