Defaulting public toilets to lose water connections

According to BWSSB officers, some of the Nirmala toilets are owned by private firms and some by the BBMP, which have in turn given the urinals on contract for better maintenance.
“Both the private firms and the Palike have defaulted in clearing their water bills. We have not yet disconnected water supply. But action will be taken, if they fail to clear the bills,” said T Venkataraju, engineer-in-chief, BWSSB.

There are 190-odd public toilets. Sulabhs owe the Board around Rs 25 lakh and public urinals have dues of around Rs 17 lakh. On an average, each public toilet records around Rs 5,000 as water bill every month.

The  BWSSB had asked the contractors to at least pay Rs 10 lakh including arrears and the current bill. However, the entities have paid only around Rs three lakh.

According to an RTI applicant, there are many toilets in Basavanagudi and surrounding areas where BWSSB has disconnected the water supply. There is no water supply to a public toilet near Bugle Rock. At places, even the sanitary lines have been clogged and diverted to the main roads.