Public toilets are an essential component of urban life. Sadly, the city planners seem to have overlooked this fact for long enough. Insufficient and inadequate provision of accessible public toilets in the city is not only affecting the quality of life of the citizens but is also contributing to the spread of diseases like Hepatitis C.

To this day, the status of public toilets in Lahore is that none of the major city markets, commercial hubs, business centres, parks and entertainment places boast a proper infrastructure. If there are any facilities to be found, these have deplorable hygiene conditions.

A majority of citizens TNS spoke to on the matter, were of the view that the provision of clean public toilets was the responsibility of the local government. Mehmood Aslam, a private town planner, said: “Creating public toilets in a metropolitan city comes with certain prerequisites — water connections, land, electricity, supplementary fixtures and willingness of managing authorities to look after these facilities.”

He added that good sanitary facilities were imperative to preventing the spread of several diseases.

Given the gap in the provision of this public facility, Salman Sufi Foundation, a private organisation, has come forward and signed an MoU with the Municipal Corporation Lahore (MCL) to provide what they are calling “Asia’s first comprehensive Saaf Bath” in the city. In this connection, a Saaf Bath was recently set up in the city’s busy Barkat Market, in a container where proper sanitary services are available for Rs 10 (single use) only. The bath has been erected close to the Barkat Market bus stop so that the pedestrians, visitors or commuters can avail it.

The foundation is planning to set up another Saaf Bath either in Shadman Market or at Chowk Yateem Khana. “It depends on the MCL where they provide us land to place the container for the purpose,” an SSF official said.

To this day, the status of public toilets in Lahore is that none of the major city markets, commercial hubs, business centres, parks and entertainment places boast a proper infrastructure. If there are any facilities to be found, these have deplorable hygiene conditions.

“We are operating the Saaf Bath on no-profit-no-loss basis,” he added. “The revenue thus generated will be spent on payment of salaries of the janitorial staff as well as those providing items for use.”

Dr Tariq Chishti, a general physician, says that inadequate availability of public toilets has a devastating impact on public health. “Unhygienic [public] toilets spread various kinds of diseases among the users. Further, in the absence of hygienic public toilets, the people, especially men, are forced to use open spaces to relieve themselves. This has harmful effects on both the environment and the health of the people.”

Shehzad Ahmed, a graduate in town planning, says public toilets, especially for women, are the need of the hour. He asserts that public toilets “ought to be constructed in markets like Ichhra, Anarkali and those inside the Walled City.”

Commenting on the present state of public toilets in the city, Ahmed says, “They stink, and are unhygienic and unsafe.”

When contacted, MCL spokesperson Akbar Amin Chopra said that the corporation “is doing its best to set up public toilets. Signing an MoU with the Salman Sufi Foundation for the purpose is a significant step in that direction.”

Talking about the state of affairs of the public toilets, Chopra said: “MCL’s Public Facilities [department] is looking after this issue.”

However, he agreed that the MCL should work more in collaboration with the private sector and civil society organisations in order to initiate similar projects in the city.

The writer is a senior reporter at The News