Residents and visitors of Barishal city, the divisional headquarter and gateway to six districts, suffer from an acute shortage of public toilets. The Barishal City Corporation (BCC) area, spread over 68 sq km, has about 6 lakh permanent residents, while about twenty per cent more come to work in the city. But there are only nine public toilets to cater to them. Besides, three more public toilets had to be shut down because of their dilapidated condition. And the condition of those that are in use is extremely unhygienic.

Mainly women, children, aged people, patients, pedestrians, members of lower-income groups like rickshaw pullers, day labourers, hawkers, and small shopkeepers find themselves in a difficult situation when responding to nature’s call due the utter inadequacy of public toilet facilities.

 Dr Matiur Rahman, chief medical officer of BCC, said the BCC had planned to construct sufficient numbers of public toilets in keeping with the city’s population figure.

The nine public toilets are situated within a 10 sq km area comprising the city centre and surrounding areas of Rupatali and Nathullabad bus terminals, Nathullabad passengers’ waiting room, Barishal River port, Green City Park, Chowmatha, Amtala, Mukijodda Park, and Sher-E- Bangla Medical College. Three closed public toilets and baths are situated at Amanatganj, Natun Bazaar and Riverport areas. The remaining 58 square kilometre area, which has a dense population and include social-commercial hubs like Amanatganj, Kawnia, Chawkbazaar, Bagura Road, Sagordi, Ichhakati, city and the district court compounds have no public toilets.

 So people are forced to relieve themselves by the roadside, against walls, drains and canals. They thus create a public nuisance, pose health hazards and cause environmental pollutions, says Rafiqul Alam, president Bangladesh Paribesh Andolon (BAPA), Barishal unit.

Besides none of the existing public toilets was women-friendly, said Rebeka Sultana, a woman entrepreneur of the city’s Katpatty area. “We need at least one public toilet in each of the 30 wards of the BCC,” said Kajal Ghosh, president, Barishal Sangskritik Sanghathan Samonnoy Parishad.