Public toilets in Khulna city bear the portrait of neglect for lack of supervision, causing immense suffering to those busy in outdoor activities during daytime. Visitors who come to Khulna for official and other purposes suffer much due to shortage of public toilets. Passers-by are often seen crossing many city areas covering their noses to escape from the unpleasant smell caused by human wastes lying there. The Khulna City Corporation (KCC) has only 13 public toilets for 15 million people in areas under its jurisdiction. Most of them operate under extremely filthy and unhygienic conditions. The result: people are forced to defecate on the open, thereby raising a stink in the area--both literally and metaphorically.
Finding no alternative I used the toilet at Sonadanga bus stand. The floor of the toilet is full of dirty water and I entered it by covering my nose. The toilet is completely unusable as it is unhygienic, said Shongkar Mondal, a shopkeeper. Slum dwellers, beggars and vagabonds relieve themselves on the roadside, making the areas unsanitary, he added.
Females, children, aged people, patients, pedestrians, lower income group people like rickshaw-pullers, day-labourers, hawkers and small shopkeepers are facing problems in responding to nature’s call in the absence of public toilets. So people have to defecate on the roadsides, walls and in the drains, canals and ponds, causing health hazards and environment pollutions, said Convener of Khulna Nagorik Samaj Advocate AFM Mohsin. A good number of people use toilets of mosques but females are not allowed to use the toilet, and they remain closed except for the prayer hours. ‘We need at least one public toilet at each of the thirty-one wards of the KCC, added Mohsin.
Male can respond to the call of nature by using footpath sides, parks and open places but use of such places by women is impossible. Some of the toilets do not even have separate arrangement for the women. Many city people, while talking to The Independent, alleged that let alone the females, none of the public toilets are suitable for the use by males.
Khulna divisional coordinator of Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (BELA) Mahfuzur Rahman Mukul told that there is a clear law in the Municipal Act to construct public toilets and their maintenance. But the civic amenities are not increasing with it. Public toilet should be constructed at the important places and at the every market in the town.
President (acting) of Conscious Citizen Committee (CCC), Khulna district unit Rosy Rahman alleged that there is neither soap nor tissue paper in the toilet. People deserve better service as they pay for using toilet. But without maintaining hygiene standards of the toilet facilities, KCC only keeps on increasing lease rates every year. A man was found urinating at a roadside near the Khulna Medical College Hospital public toilet. When asked, he said, ‘It’s much better to do it here than using the filthy toilet.’ He expressed surprise as hundreds of modern buildings and business establishments have been constructed without toilet facilities.
Chief Health Officer of KCC Dr AKM Abdullah said according to the agreement, the lease holders were supposed to maintain the public toilets regularly, but they hardly do their job. He added the corporation will take measures soon to keep them clean. Chief Engineer of KCC Md Nazmul Islam said the authorities are aware of the problem and added that the civic agency cannot take more steps to set up public toilets due to shortage of funds and lands.