No place to go…
By Abu Md Masani
A man was found answering the call of nature (it is a every day scene common to our cities) by the roadside, near a public toilet in the capitals Tejgaon area. When asked why, he simply said, Its much better to do it here than use the filthy toilet. He also expressed regret that hundreds of modern buildings and business establishments were being built without hygienic toilet facilities.
Passers-by are often seen crossing many city areas covering their noses to escape from the unpleasant stench emanating from public toilets. To many new visitors, Dhaka would appear, or smell, like a huge open-air toilet.
Finding no alternative, I once had to use the toilet at Mohakhali bus station. The floor of the toilet was full of dirty water and I entered it by pinching my nose tightly. The toilet is completely unusable as it is unhygienic, said Alim Uddin, a visitor from Tangail, emerging from a cubicle.
Like him, visitors or commuters who come to the capital for work and other purposes suffer much due to shortage of public toilets. Men can relieve themselves on footpaths, parks and other open spaces. And what about women? Use of such public places is impossible for them.
Lack of proper toilet facilities is a major problem in Dhaka. Women, children, old or sick people particularly suffer a lot due to unsafe and unhygienic public toilets.
Visiting different spots in the capital, I found most of the public toilets to be dilapidated and unhygienic. Many of the doors were broken and the facilities dirty and damaged. Lack of maintenance and repairs are to be blamed. Moreover, both men and women are forced to use the same toilets, as some places have no separate arrangements for females.
Khaleda Akter, a college student who came to Dhaka from Mymensingh, said many women often ignore the need to go as the toilets are dirty and smelly.
The toilets are not cleaned properly, and most of the time there is neither water nor soap, let alone toilet paper, said Rifa, another girl accompanying her. I think when taps or other sanitary equipment get damaged, the authorities do not even bother to repair those, she added.
One or two toilets were found to be okay where long queues were seen.
The worst sufferers are those who work or are busy in outdoor activities during daytime. Pedestrians, low-income people like rickshaw-pullers, day-labourers, hawkers and small shopkeepers face immense problems in responding to natures call due to lack of sufficient public toilets.
A good number of those people use toilets of mosques, but women are not allowed to use those. Besides, most mosque toilets remain closed except for prayer times.
Poor condition of toilets in the city adversely affects our health. Yet, the authorities seem indifferent to the problem, said Abid Hossain, a vendor in the city.
Sometimes, we find slum-dwellers, beggars or vagabonds, who have no other option, relieve themselves on roadsides, in drains, canals or ponds, making the areas unsanitary and causing health hazards.
The city corporations needs at least one public toilet in each ward of the capital.
According to their websites, Dhaka South City Corporation has 96 public toilets (in five zones), while Dhaka North City Corporation partially lists 26 in some areas of the densely populated city of around 17 million people. Most of those toilets are filthy and unusable. The result: people are forced to urinate or defecate in the open, thereby, giving a constant stink to the city_ literally and metaphorically.
Photos: Internet
