Pitiable conditions of public toilets
Sunday, 23 November 2008
THERE is a severe lack of understanding and sensitivity by the authorities with regards to public toilets in this country. If you are travelling by rail, try the toilets in the waiting rooms. They are invariably dirty. If you make the mistake of asking an attendant as to how could anyone expect that one would use such a filthy toilet, as this writer did, then chances are you would get an answer like: "Aren't you happy that you don't have to spend hours in there!"
Unless you are travelling First Class or AC chances are that most times you will find a very dirty toilet in the trains.
It is the same with major bus stands. You become desperate asking where one can find a toilet, and no one is there to help you. The difference is the so-called luxury coaches travelling on longer routes and they stop at specific eateries where the toilets are clean. This writer made five such trips using the Greenline service in the past three years-three times to Kolkata, once to Chittagong and once to Bogra-and the facilities wherever they stopped were excellent. However, one the way to Kolkata the ferry has to be used and the toilets in those boats are far from good and there are not too many of them either; and you just hope your turn will come quickly.
I would thus ask the authorities concerned to kindly look into the matter because it does not involve grown men alone who may not care much about privacy but also women surely toilets at public places can be upgraded and surely when that is done it will prove that we are going up the development ladder.
Rizwan
Wari, Dhaka
Unless you are travelling First Class or AC chances are that most times you will find a very dirty toilet in the trains.
It is the same with major bus stands. You become desperate asking where one can find a toilet, and no one is there to help you. The difference is the so-called luxury coaches travelling on longer routes and they stop at specific eateries where the toilets are clean. This writer made five such trips using the Greenline service in the past three years-three times to Kolkata, once to Chittagong and once to Bogra-and the facilities wherever they stopped were excellent. However, one the way to Kolkata the ferry has to be used and the toilets in those boats are far from good and there are not too many of them either; and you just hope your turn will come quickly.
I would thus ask the authorities concerned to kindly look into the matter because it does not involve grown men alone who may not care much about privacy but also women surely toilets at public places can be upgraded and surely when that is done it will prove that we are going up the development ladder.
Rizwan
Wari, Dhaka