With the national Capital grossly lacking in toilet facilities for women in public spaces, the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) is set to open 60 high-end Public Toilet Utilities (PTUs) in its areas and reconstruct 41 of the existing 217. For the convenience and safety of women, these PTUs will have a separate entry unlike the existing ones, where people from both the sexes enter through the same door.
The upcoming toilets will be located at prominent places frequented by women. These include markets like Khan Market, Sarojini Nagar Market and Shankar Market. Apart from this, Ashoka Road, Copernicus Marg, Mandir Marg, Moti Bagh, Satya Niketan, Jantar Mantar Road, AIIMS’ entry gate adjacent to the Ring Road and gate number 7 of Delhi High Court Complex will also have the facility.
“The areas where these PTUs will be built have been decided based on the footfall and behaviour of public along with logistics of sewerage and water networks. All of these will have separate and most possibly a rear entry for the convenience and security of women,” informed a senior NDMC official.
At present, both the sexes enter through the same entry which further bifurcates into two different sections for men and women. More recently, this has been criticised as cases of rape and molestation inside such facilities were reported.
The civic body claims that it is going to imbibe several unique features in these toilets which will be brought in for the first time in the city. “We have let out the RFP (Request for Proposal) to the public. Material used for the construction of these toilets will be eco-friendly. Moreover, even the differently-abled people will be able to use them. We will mark potential stakeholders based on the designs submitted by them. 80 per cent marks will be for technicality and 20 per cent for financial score. lesser the space for advertisements, more the marks awarded to the bidder’s design,” the official said, adding, “Also, it is mandatory for the party to create a green belt in and around the PTU.”
Further, the civic body has emphasised that the lighting of these toilets will be through solar energy.
“The old PTUs will be renovated like the new ones. Those located at Sansad Marg, Central Park, Super Bazaar, Tughlak lane, Akbar lane, Max Mueller Marg and Park Street, to name a few, will be getting a new look,” said another official.