The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : A luxury that few can afford

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Jun 01, 2007
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

A luxury that few can afford

Bageshree S.

There are hardly any public toilets for women in the Old Bangalore areas

INCONGRUITY: The BBMP's free toilets have been locked while women have to pay to use Nirmala toilets in Old Bangalore areas, including Balepet, Chikpet and Avenue Road. — Photo: K. Bhagya Prakash

Bangalore: A woman working or out shopping in Old Bangalore, which includes Balepet, Chikpet, Avenue Road and surrounding areas, needs to be a superwoman of sorts. She not only has to have the agility to dodge the jostling crowds, but must also be a master at bladder control.

This is because the number of public toilets for women in the area is grossly disproportionate to the number of women working in or visiting the area. Many traders say they think twice before employing a woman because of the inadequacy of this basic civic amenity.

Many old buildings

The problem is particularly acute in these areas because they have several old buildings that do not have private toilets, making people more dependent on public toilets. An additional problem specific to the area is that the few toilets that have come up under the Nirmala Bangalore project are pay-and-use facilities.

A large number of women working in this area are from the lower income group, such as flower sellers and vegetable vendors, who cannot afford such a luxury.

A woman (who did not want to be named) running a designer sari shop on D.S. Lane in Chikpet said, "This is a 150-year-old business area with everyday transactions running into crores. It has now become a big retail trade centre, with the number of women shoppers and workers going up. But there are too few toilets for them. Women are embarrassed to even speak about it."

Kavitha Manjunath, who runs a khadi shop on Kilari Road, said she had to walk for about 10 minutes to the toilet on Hospital Road. Right next to the Nirmala toilet is a small, free public toilet, which has now been locked.

Susheela, a computer operator in an agricultural implements shop on SP Road, said she used the toilet in an adjoining new building rather than walking to the toilet at the end of SJP Road. She said it was a common toilet for men and women on the fourth floor of the building, used by people in 12 shops in the complex and from neighbouring shops.

Distance is not the issue for Asha, a flower seller who sits right next to a Nirmala toilet. She complained that she could not afford to pay Rs. 3 to Rs. 4 to use these toilets. This correspondent found that the entry fee in Nirmala toilets in the area is not uniform and ranges between Rs. 1 and Rs. 4. Though some people in charge of them said that they accepted even 50 paise from poor women, women vendors contradicted this claim. The cheapest toilet in the area is the one inside Sri Krishnarajendra Market where entry costs Rs. 1.50.

A survey of the area revealed that not many women are employed here even in places such as retail sari shops. There have been instances of women leaving their jobs when they are pregnant or diabetic because they need to use the toilet often, said some traders.

The traders of the area came up with the idea of installing portable toilets in some places. But it had to be shelved because of maintenance problems, said B.K. Goyal, a trader on SJP Road and secretary of the Federation of Trade Associations of Central Bangalore. "The Government can think of running special buses for women, but what about something as basic as toilets for them?"

Devaki Umesh, Health Officer, (Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike, West), said there was a proposal to build more free urinals (for men and women) in core business areas in Bangalore. A high-level meeting is being convened to debate the possibility of making access to Nirmala Bangalore toilets free.

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