On 27 May, a Delhi resident was beaten to death after he stopped two men from urinating in public. Several leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, pushed for speedy action against the killers.
While the act is shameful, it begs the question:
Why did the two men, like many others, resort to urinating in the open, despite the existence of a number of public urinals?
According to data accessed by The Quint, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi alone maintains a total of 2,009 public urinals.
But Who Will Use Dirty Urinals?
While the public urinal at a local market in East Delhi’s Mayur Vihar looks clean from the outside, vendors in the market have a different story to tell.
“None of us here use that toilet, we’ve never seen it being cleaned. We generally use the restrooms in nearby apartments,” says Vinod, who runs a kathi roll stall in the market.
Another public urinal, outside Deer Park in Hauz Khas village, is in worse condition, with graffiti adorning its dilapidated walls. The restroom is frequented by parking attendants and drivers, but is hardly cleaned twice a week.
The state of public urinals in Delhi only worsens during the monsoon.
Are Swachh Bharat Toilets Marginally Better?
Under the PM Modi-led Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, public toilets were built using joint funding from central and state governments.
With its bright red brick walls, the Swachh Bharat toilet in Green Park paints a rosier picture than its MCD counterparts.
Omdev, the maintenance worker at the complex, claims that the toilets are cleaned at least twice daily. The toilet users have high praise for its cleanliness and facilities, claiming that it is indeed better than other urinals in the area.
Restaurant Restrooms for Free
On 1 April the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) made it mandatory for the restaurants and hotels under their purview to allow women to use their restrooms for free. Geetanjali, an SDMC official, said:
Initially there was objection from some restaurant owners, but it has become a mandatory rule now.
While the SDMC also makes it necessary for the restaurants to announce the facility through display boards, restaurants in Hauz Khas Village do not seem to have complied.
We have always allowed women to use washrooms for free, even before the rule came into place. It’s a basic need. In fact, there have been days when we have allowed women inside even after closing hours, so they can use it.Akash Mohan, Manager, The Beer Cafe, Hauz Khas
There is also a visible difference in the section of socio-economic class that use these restaurants for their restroom facilities.
Only those who can afford the restaurant have walked in to use our restrooms earlier. We have never had anyone from the lower strata ask to use (the restrooms).Ravi Sethi, Manager, Vapor Bar Exchange, Hauz Khas
No Place for Menstruating Women
How do women from underprivileged backgrounds deal with menstruation? Meena (name changed), a street hawker outside Dilli Haat, says “her time of the month is a particularly trying period.”
Meena’s shop is set right across an NDMC toilet complex, that looks clean from the outside. “The main cleaning happens every morning, and around 300-400 people use its facilities daily, particularly the DMRC maintenance workers,” says Bharat Rao, a maintenance worker.
However, Meena disputes Rao’s claims, stating that the bathroom is never clean, forcing her to visit the nearby petrol pump to relieve herself.
While the Swachh Bharat toilets may seem like a step towards better sanitation, the fact remains that Delhi’s public urinals are in a sad state, with immense scope for improvement, particularly with respect to women’s sanitation.
(Video Editor: Vivek Gupta)
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