BBMP to build 444 public loos, aims to rid city of open toilets by 2018

Bengaluru could be free from  open defecation by next year with the BBMP taking a step forward in building hundreds of public toilets.

Ahead of the Swachh Survekshan-2018, BBMP Commissioner N Manjunath Prasad has made an appeal to the director of Swachh Bharath Mission (SBM) to sanction partial funds for the construction of 444 public toilets and 79 community toilets across the city. The letter was written on December 19, a copy of which is with DH.  

"We want to make the city open defecation-free by next year," said Sarfaraz Khan, joint commissioner, health and solid waste management, BBMP.

The letter mentions that although the BBMP had called four tenders to build 250 public toilets under a public-private-partnership (PPP) model, there were no applicants. Thus, the BBMP appealed to the SBM so that the Karnataka Rural Infrastructure Development Limited (KRIDL) can take up the work.

The estimated cost of constructing community toilets is Rs 4.92 crore, while the 444 public toilets will cost Rs 26.61 crore. The cost will be shared by the SBM and the state government. "Once we get the approval, we aim to set the toilets up in a month," said a BBMP official.

The BBMP proposes to build the community toilets primarily in the slums that lack in private or public toilets. The additional public toilets will be built to cater to all sections of society.

DH had reported on December 2, 2017, that in a recent survey conducted by 'I Change My City', there are about 473 public toilet complexes in the BBMP limits or one in every 24 kilometres. However, according to the guidelines set by the SBM, for a city with a population of more than one crore, there has to be one toilet complex every seven kilometres. This means the city falls short of about 1,100 toilets.

"Open defecation is prevalent mostly among slum dwellers and around construction sites in growing hubs such as Mahadevapura and Rajarajeshwari Nagar where there is no proper access to toilets. I have instructed the town planning committee to see to it that there are toilets particularly in these areas," Khan said.

When asked about the poor maintenance of the existing toilets in the city, he said: "We need to bring in attitudinal changes in the people by creating awareness. We are ensuring that the existing toilets are geo-mapped and praharis are deployed to inspect and maintain the existing toilets."