New public toilets in prime areas looted by miscreants

Gap between installation, handing over to pvt agencies costs GHMC

Some miscreants have been damaging newly built public toilets and stealing equipment. They have looted commodes and destroyed infrastructure in prime localities, including Khairatabad, Jubilee Hills and Serilingampally.

The authorities were busy safeguarding about 8,000 new toilets. They expedited the process to finalise tender for maintenance of toilets before they were completely damaged.

A senior GHMC official, requesting anonymity, said that though the installation of toilets was completed, no private agency had come forward to maintain them in the last two months, despite floating tenders on multiple occasions. He said that the gap between installation and handing them over to private agencies for maintenance has cost the corporation dearly.

“Many toilets have been damaged by miscreants. Making it worse, some even have started using them without drinking water and sewerage connections. As a damagecontrol exercise, the corporation has instructed Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWS&SB) to give water and sewerage connections immediately so that they could be informally inaugurated them put to use until a new agency steps in to maintain then,” the official said.

The cost of each toilet varies from `65,000 to `1.5 lakh. The shortlisted agency should take up the maintenance and clean toilets at least six times a day.

“With maintenance being the key aspect, we decided to rope in private agencies for effective maintenance,” said

GHMC commissioner D.S. Lokesh Kumar. He said the agencies will maintain the facilities and clean the toilets six times a day at prescribed times. The GHMC will pay for their services.

The corporation estimates that it would cost about `23 crore towards annual maintenance of all toilets. It is the largest drive in public toilets anywhere in the country and Hyderabad will be, by far, the only city with more than 10,000 public toilets in the country, GHMC officials said.

IT IS THE largest drive in public toilets anywhere in the country and Hyderabad will be, by far, the only city with more than 10,000 public toilets in the country, GHMC officials said.