Margao boasts of an air conditioned public toilet block right in the heart of the town – in the municipal garden – and a network of public toilets across the town, but decent toilet amenities still remain a far cry with public sanitation craving for urgent attention from the authorities and powers that be.
Around two dozen public toilets may dot the State’s commercial capital. You can find them in public places and residential colonies. But, leave alone their maintenance, the number falls short of the growing requirements, especially around the slums and clusters housing the marginalised sections of society who cannot afford to have individual toilets for want of land.
It’s not uncommon to hear complaints relating to poor maintenance, inadequate water supply to public toilets, damaged doors, overflowing septic tanks and soak pits from the users.
The situation at the Housing Board and Chinchal toilet blocks (See Boxes) gives a fair idea of what users of the public toilets have to face.
Non-availability of land seems to have come in the way of adding new toilet blocks in a city growing by leaps and bounds. Says Margao MLA Digambar Kamat, “We had planned to set up a number of toilet blocks in the town, but land is a problem. Even in residential colonies, including the slum areas, there’s a need for additional toilet blocks, but land has come in the way of implementing the plan”.
Sulabh International engineer, Brijesh Singh, echoes similar sentiments. “Sulabh had planned an additional toilet block at the pickup stand. The proposal had received financial sanction, but the toilet was finally shifted out on account of land availability.
housing board colony
A visit to the Housing Board Colony reveals a far worse scenario. A sewage pool stares back at the users and neighbouring residents as sewage is discharged in an open area with impunity. Sulabh International engineer, Brijesh Singh refused to share the blame for the unhygienic conditions around the toilet block. He instead pointed an accusing finger at the authorities for not plugging an adjoining drain.
In the absence of an underground sewerage line in many parts of the commercial capital, sewage water finds its way into the storm drains. Says Singh, “The absence of an underground sewage line has compounded the sewage problem. We deployed our night soil tanker to clean the septic tanks, but an underground line would have made our job easy.”
chinchal
The pathetic state of the public toilet at Chinchal has once again brought to the fore the grim reality facing public sanitation in the town. While public protests prompted Sulabh officials to give the toilet block a whitewash and ensure adequate water supply to the block, sewage water from the overflowing septic tank still finds its way to the adjoining fields, creating a health hazard.
malbhat
The toilet block in the residential area of Malbhat, metres away from the residence of local MLA Digambar Kamat, cuts a sorry picture of public sanitation in the town. Crumbling walls, broken doors sans latches, fading paint and the stinking environment have all given the toilet a bad look.
