You have a right to clean public toilets………MS Kamath
The vacation season has hit Mumbaikars with a bang. Every form of transport — air, rail and bus as well as a medley of private taxis and sundry modes of carriage will be over-booked as harried citizens seek a break from their daily routine. There is, however, one aspect of travelling which the itinerant traveller will have to manage with throughout his journey — the non-availability of clean toilets on the road.
People who travel on the public transport system know the travails and tribulations one has to undergo when one has to answer the call of nature in a hurry. For some strange reason, toilets in this country are located far apart from each other and those which are in the public domain like bus depots or railway stations are filthy. The agony and humiliation is particularly bad for women who need privacy while using the toilet, while the men, often resigned to fate, turn their backs to the audience and relieve themselves at any convenient spot where there is a desolate patch.
Most service providers, particularly in the transport sector and otherwise, are unaware that provision of basic amenities to the citizen is as much a consumer right as providing good services and commodities. For example, in every public place, which includes shopping areas, malls and restaurants, the provision of a clean toilet is a mandatory requirement. In transport systems, provision of a clean toilet at various points is a necessity and an essential service.
The reason for this all-round apathy in providing basic facilities is that most Indian service providers believe that a clean toilet is a penalty imposed by the law. The authorities keep complaining that the traffic in the toilet is impossible to control, employees manning the toilets are indisciplined and no matter what efforts are made, toilets will continue to stink and remain unclean. Toilets run by NGOs and private organisations have shown how false these statements and claims can be.
The consumer using the toilets is to blame equally for the dismal scenario. Spitting, not cleaning the place after use and generally abusing the facility is the rule rather than the exception. If other parts of the ‘civilised’ world can do it, then why can’t we?
The general apathy of the whole system towards toilet cleanliness has led to the Consumer Guidance Society of India to plan a ‘Clean Toilets’ movement in Maharashtra in the near future.