Free toilet should ensure every public places and commercial buildings

The local government including City Corporation, Pourashova, Upozila Porishad and Union Porishad should take responsibility to ensure free healthy toilets at every public places and commercial buildings in Bangladesh. Particularly, toilets are not enough at cities and existing toilets are not useable as most of toilets are not clean and comfortable. Meanwhile, these toilets are not safe for women and physically challenged people. So people; mostly women drink less water and it causes different kind of physical problem. Even; most of women avoid public toilet even if it is necessary for them. As a result, they suffered lot.

Speakers mentioned above in a discussion titled “importance of public toilet: current situation and what needs to be done”; organized by Poribesh Bachao Andolon (POBA) and Work for a Better Bangladesh (WBB) Trust at POBA office in Kalabagan.

This meeting was presided by Dr. Lenin Chowdhury; member secretary of POBA healthy food movement and Mr. Ziaur Rahman; project officer of WBB Trust presented written keynote paper. Renowned Environmentalist Abu Naser Khan; Chairman of POBA, Engineer Abdus Sobhan; Ex-Additional Director General of Department of Environment, Hafizur Rahman Moyna; Chairman of Nagorik Odhikar Songrokkon Forum (NASOF), Aslam Khan; joint secretary of POBA spoke at this meeting. The meeting was moderated by Advocate Syed Mahbubul Alam; Director of WBB Trust.

Ziaur Rahman said in his paper that; about half of people are women and about 10% people are physically disabled. But in reality, there are no public toilets for physically challenged people and not enough toilets for women at Dhaka and all over the country.

Environmentalist Abu Naser Khan said that; each city corporation have sanitary inspector; but they are not monitoring public toilets. As per POBA observation; most of public toilets are not secured for women. Inside of public toilets are not clean, no enough lights; often water crisis are regular incidence. So this weakness should notice by city authority. Engineer Abdus Sobhanrequested government for ensure public toilets for hawker, homeless person and movable people as most of them have no facility for toilet.

Dr. Lenin Chowdhury said; toilet and sanitation system are symbol for quality of life to any nation. Due to lack of proper toilet system; couple of stomach related diseases; including typhoid, dysentery, jaundice are occurrence. So; to reduce these diseases, we should ensure healthy, environment friendly, clean and comfortable sanitation system everywhere in Bangladesh.  

Advocate Syed Mahbubul Alam said; it is legal obligation for City Corporation to ensure public toilet for citizen at city areas. Each year, City Corporations spent thousand crore of Taka and how could citizen accept that they can’t manage public toilets? It is totally unaccepted. However, if people have to pay for using public toilet, so why people should pay tax to City Corporation? He suggested to monitor and ensure public toilet by City Corporation themselves rather providing lease to private.

 

Among others, Abul Hasnat, president of Modern Club of old town, Rehana Zaman Chowdhury of FUARA, Maruf Rahman of WBB Trust were spoke in open discussion.