An e-toilet unit near Town Hall.
DH File Photo
E-toilets in the city may get a new lease of life after the Karnataka High Court pulled up the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) for failing to provide an adequate number of public toilets and maintain the existing ones.
Several e-toilets in the city have remained closed for over six months now after the operation and maintenance contract lapsed. The civic body has not been able to get a company to operate them.
Explaining the delay, a senior BBMP official with the solid waste management (SWM) wing said, “We did call tenders, but there were no bidders.”
Now, following the observations by the high court, the BBMP has called for a tender and is in the final stages of selecting a company to run these toilets.
While the BBMP maintained that the contract had expired only in February this year, many residents pointed out that these toilets had not been functional for over a year.
“They were functioning well only during the initial few months. They have been shut for more than a year now,” said Prashanth R, a resident of Hampi Nagar.
Mahesh M, a resident of Basavanagudi, said that there is need to monitor these toilets regularly. “Even when they were functional, the doors of the toilets were not opening or closing properly. Also, water and electricity were a problem sometimes. The BBMP has to monitor the facility at regular intervals,” he said.
V Hariharan Agilan, a resident of JP Nagar, said that the e-toilets in the mini forest at JP Nagar were helpful for many. “Many walkers, women, children, and workers from nearby establishments were using it. But now, owing to poor maintenance, it has turned into a stinking, dirty place that cannot be used,” he said.