Seats of power but no signs of swachchta
At a time when there is great thrust on Swachh Bharat Mission, which aims to catalyse a nationwide commitment towards hygiene and sanitation, washrooms in government offices present an extremely dirty picture. HT carries out a status check to assess the condition of public toilets in government establishments
PRAYAGRAJ: Almost all vital government departments in Prayagraj are located at the district magistrate’s office compound and the Vikas Bhawan premises located opposite to it.
Thousands of people visit these offices every day.
However, their toilets are in poor state: Broken and non-functional urinals and commodes, paan stains on sinks and walls with stink on most of these toilets tell a sad tale of the ground reality of the muchtouted Swachch Bharat Abhiyan.
The situation is even worse at the Collectorate compound.
Here over 200 class 3 and class 4 employees, including around 80 women, come to work. Being the hub of all major government works, this office is visited by around 5,000 to 6,000 people each working day on an average.
“However, we simply do not have any toilets for staff as such. There are toilets for class 1 and class 2 officials but the majority of the staff has to rely on the lone Sulabh complex that is built just outside. Sadly, its state is also pathetic and it keeps stinking,” shares Ajay Shankar Srivastava, president, Collectorate Karamchari Sangh, Prayagraj.
He said that in desperation staff members queue to attend to call of nature at the two toilets that exist next to a new meeting hall that has come up in the compound.
However, this is too far from the offices where most staff members work and even these remain dirty most of the time, he added.
A woman employee shared that a small toilet built for differentlyabled is the one that most women employees rush to in times of need.
“But the situation is pathetic. Two new toilets were to be built following protests and demands by employees but they are yet to get constructed,” added the clerical staff.
At Vikas Bhawan, the situation is different but no less pathetic.
Here, there are two toilets each for men and women on the ground floor as well as the three other floors that form the building which houses 24 separate departments.
Here, over 500 employees, including over 100 women, work. Vikas Bhawan also attracts around 500 to 750 visitors daily, said an employee.
The toilets here on the ground floor are in an utterly deplorable state and seem to have been lying uncleaned since weeks.
Broken urinals, walls and toilet fittings covered with ‘pan masala’ stains and cobwebs make many of them completely unfit for use.
“The problem is that the toilets stink and many of the washbasins, commodes and urinals are broken. The problem is compounded by the fact that we simply do not have safai karamcharis.
Most have retired and new appointments have not taken place. As a result we are dependent upon calling outside help for cleaning the toilets,” shared Nar Singh, president of Vikas Bhawan Karanchari Mahasangh.
He said that many a times the staff members pool money to get the cleaning and whitewashing done. “The demand for toilets and recruiting safari karamcharis are pending for long,” he rued.
Deepak Singh, a visitor at the Vikas Bhawan, also rued the state of toilets here.
“The toilets are in a shamble. A visit is enough to know that neither are they cleaned properly nor maintained. Paan stains are everywhere and most of the toilets lack a functional cistern. Many of the sinks and commodes are unusable. I pity the staff members who have to come here daily,” he said.