Credit: Special Arrangement.
Bengaluru: Commuters have to pay for using the toilet at 12 metro stations in the city.
The charges are Rs 2 for using the urinal and Rs 5 for the toilet.
Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) has outsourced the maintenance of toilets at 12 stations for five years.
It signed an agreement to this effect with private organisation Sulabh International on May 7, according to a document reviewed by DH.
The 12 metro stations are: National College, Lalbagh, South End Circle, Jayanagar, RV Road, Banashankari, JP Nagar, Yelachenahalli (all on the Green Line); Central College, Vidhana Soudha, Cubbon Park, and KSR Railway Station (on the Purple Line).
BL Yashavanth Chavan, Chief Public Relations Officer (BMRCL), clarified that the toilets at the 12 metro stations were located outside the paid area, meaning anyone could use them without buying a metro ticket.
"At all the other stations, toilets located within the paid area, which can be accessed only after buying a ticket, continue to be free," he told DH.
Chavan added that the BMRCL will not earn any revenue from the user fees, but will no longer bear the cost of maintenance either.
However, the toilet user fees haven't gone down well with metro passengers, who are already upset by the steep fare hike effected in February.
Some suggested that staff not familiar with Kannada have been posted at these toilets.