With stinking, filthy and crumbled urinals plaguing the city, the sight of a man urinating in the open is normal in the national Capital. The city, which is home to over a crore population, is yet to fulfil the hygiene needs of the masses.
Major markets and commercial hubs too fail to provide the basic facility forcing people to urinate shamelessly in public places. A stark reality is that the popular and posh markets in the Capital which include Karol Bagh, Chandni Chowk, Chawri Bazar, Malviya Nagar, Hauz Khas and Nehru Place offer its lakhs of visitors shabby urinals which are poorly managed.
The problem is worse for women for whom this is a matter of dignity as well as safety. “Public toilets are a nightmare in this area. Neither can we women urinate in the open nor can we use the existing toilets as they are unhygienic and appear to be breeding ground for diseases,” said a woman shopper in Chandni Chowk which is one of the biggest markets in Asia.
Meanwhile, the waterless urinals that came up in the city ahead of the Commonwealth Games are also lying in a state of neglect. With a revenue sharing dispute between the private operator and the Municipal Corporations reaching the Delhi High Court, the civic bodies are also unable to initiate action against its operators who have turned a blind eye towards the maintenance and cleanliness of these toilet blocks. “The matter is pending before the court. The civic body can not terminate the contract nor can it appoint another agency for maintenance,” said an official of South Delhi Municipal Corporations.