A  ll public and private organisations should provide at least basic amenities like drinking water and toilets in their premises. When it comes to infrastructure, the sub-urban KSRTC bus stand in Mysore is inferior to none. But the same cannot be said about the service and maintenance.

There are five toilets and urinals for men and women each and two for the physically challenged. But ‘cleanliness’ and ‘hygiene’ are foreign words in these facilities. Water supply is a joke here. Even as the whole of Mysore complains about water scarcity, water is wasted here round the clock. While a few water outlets like taps and flush are permanently blocked for want of attention, water flows continuously in most of them, again for want of attention.

At a time when the whole world is talking about climate change, depletion of water sources, ineffectiveness and exorbitant costs involved in pumping water from long distances, precious water literally flows down the drain here. That too, putting the users into inconvenience. Due to the force of water, it would look like a miracle if one escapes without wetting one’s pants while passing urine.

The architect of the bus stand building has done a wonderful job. All the urinals are placed strategically -- like at the arrival platform and at uniform intervals across all other platforms. Passengers need not go scouting for urinals and toilets. But the same cannot be said about the services.

Even though one need not pay to use urinals and boards have been displayed to this effect, the persons sitting at the entrance of these facilities bang with a stick on the tables put in front of them whenever a user enters in and stretches his hand to extort money. When one refuses to pay, they turn aggressive and abuse in fowl language.

The situation was not so when the facilities were manned by Sulabh International earlier. But with the entry of local contractors, the facilities have become dirty and user unfriendly. For regular commuters, it is nightmarish to enter the urinals every time, due to the unruly attendants.

The attendants have smeared some dirt on the notifications, which mention that urinals are free for use, to conceal them, at the arrival platform. In other places no such notification can be found.

Even though the facilities for the physically challenged have been constructed, unfortunately they are not available for use.When contacted, Vasu, in-charge of the bus stand, said the urinals were clearly free for use and he would look into the issue. He also said steps would be taken to check wastage of water.