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SAVE DHAKA

Better not to use them at all

URBANISATION & HOUSING : PART - 5

By Masud Hasan Khan
Not king ago. baton-wteM-ing |x>licemen of Dhaka, could ■ be seen chasing sheepish-looking fellows sitting In rows and urinating in public places, par-ticularty at the Gulistan. Famgale and Azimpur areas.
Newspapers often displayed prominently the predicaments of those poor creatures running off the spots during police swoop, sometimes with their call of nature unheeded*
Though for a brief period of time, these crowded areas enjoyed an atmosphere free of the sickening stench from the open-air urination, but the acute problem of public toilets In Dhaka city still remains unresolved.
The public toilets In our capital, in a way. symbolise the authoritarian attitude of the. city fathers to their humble tax-payers for whom restrooms outside their residences are usually a bizarre experience.
The Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) has So far Installed only 16 public toilets across the capital.
The figure is extremely in sufficient compared to the needs of thousands of people who have to relieve themselves every-day while they are on the streets.
The total population of the city is nearly four million while the total area is about 445 square-kilometer.
Besides, there are thousands who come from outside the city for the day's work.
Those who are forced to enjoy a trip inside these civic 'facilities’ often vow not to return there ever after.
"It has become a big jungle... I mean the city." grumbled Mir Aminul Islam, a resident of Rampura.
"Yet. unlike the Jungle, you do not have the minimum privacy.” he said.
The public toilets are mostly dark inside, the floors wet and slippery, the urinals a yellowish brown and slimy for lack of cleaning for a long time:
The pipes that drain down the human wastes are often non-existent, leaving unaware citizens with wet shoes.
However, the leaseholders of these public toilets who charge a fee for the privilege of using the facilities sometimes are often kind enough to place a few bricks amid pools of urine to facilitate the passage.
For water, you have to use your own tissue paper or carry your own thrown away con-dciised milk cans.
Toilet pans are overflowing because there are some problems in the flush or in the
sewage lines.
Relieving becomes even more difficult at night. Most of the toilets lack any light bulbs and you don t know where you are doing it.
May be, in the darkened corner you have chosen, there is another innocent soul relieving himself, completely unaware of your intrusion.
Those who own the leaseholds of these public amenities are very smart in collecting the charges but absolutely lazy when the question of maintenance comes up.
Usually, the rate is 50 paisa for using the urinal pans and taka one for the latrines.
"We are doing x>ur best." commented a sweeper at the New Market public toilet. "But we cannot buy toilet fittings or disinfectants from our own pockets if the leaseholder does not provide for them."
This particular toilet facili-tiy pays nearly Taka 10 lakh to the exchequer ever year, according to the DCC.
Monitoring the regular servicing of these public toilets rests on' the DCC. However. Corporation officials daim,that they do It regularly.
A senior DCC official, who' declined to-be named, said
tfial the monitoring ceases be cause of the intense paim-gi easing that takes place between the leaseholders of the public toilets and the moni tors.
DCC sources Informed this correspondent that some ol the toilets are never leased out because no one competes in the annual bidding.
This happens because a section of City Corporation officials run these toilets, either in pseudonyms or in the name of their relatives, they said
The toilets in the marketplaces are run by those who have strbng economic ties with the management committees of the markets.
"So they run these toilets without really caring for the convenience of the people." said one source.
The lack of adequate toilet facilities has also put a big question mark on the responsibilities of the owners of public facilities such as marketplaces. shopping arcades and cinema halls.
The owners of private markets like Noor Mansion. Chandni Cha wk, Gpusia. Ramna Bhaban and smaller shopping
places hardly care for the convenience of their customers, even though business worth lakhs of taka are transacted at these places everyday.
Usually, each of these marketplaces has one toilet, but these are either closed or their conditions are abominable.
Talking to The Dally Star. Rajdhani Unnayan Kartrl pakkha (RAJ UK) officials said that they could not force the private owners to install toilets. because there were no laws.
What would be the number of toilets in one factory rests completely on the owner, said Zakir Hossain. Chief Town Planner of RAJUK
For the ladles, the problem is even more excruciating and very often they are forced to seek the key from the shop owners to use their private toilets.
Under the circumstances, men can but helplessly use the public toilets without looking at other's eyes but the lack of minimum provisions for the women puts on trial the civic tastes of our city lathers.
In most cases, it’s better not to use the so-called public toilets If one can help it.