The government had okayed the shifting of DC’s office to the land situated near Central Workshop while Zilla Panchayat is yet to make up its mind to shift to the new building which had come up near Taluk Panchayat office in Madikeri. Owing to lack of space, all the offices housed in the Fort premises will not be shifted to the newer places. However, hundreds of people who visit these offices are put into hardship as there are no public toilets in the Fort premises. Leave alone public, some officials are also seen attending nature’s call behind the fort itself.
As the fort belongs to Archeological Survey of India and presuming that the offices need to be shifted one or the other day, none of them had even thought of constructing a public toilet in the vicinity.
The fort also houses public central library and museum and hundreds of people come to read in the library. Moreover, even the tourists who visit Madikeri will not retrun without visiting fort, museum. The tourists attend their nature’s call behind library building or AC’s office.
Toilets have been constructed in those places where public do not move. However, the fort is left aside. In case, even if the DC’s office and ZP Office is shifted from Fort premises within four to five years, even then the fort will remain the same and the tourists will continue to visit. The construction of a public toilet will help many public as well as the tourists.
The construction of a public toilet will help the public in the future. Sveral crores of funds is released to Kodagu district. Even the construction of ‘Sulabh Shauchalaya’ will not be a difficult task for the CMC and district administration.
The officials who have been speaking of making Kodagu free of open defecation should atleast turn their eyes towards Fort premises.