Seven days on, 25 public toilets in markets still locked

Even after seven days of locking 80 public toilets, municipal corporation of Chandigarh is able to hand over only 55 public toilets to market welfare associations, while 25 are still locked causing a great inconvenience to the public.

Even after seven days of locking 80 public toilets, municipal corporation of Chandigarh is able to hand over only 55 public toilets to market welfare associations, while 25 are still locked causing a great inconvenience to the public.

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Under fire from the people over locking toilets in various city markets since May 11, the MC decided to hand them over to the market welfare associations on temporary basis, till they formulate any policy.

Though some of market welfare associations came forward, but others are reluctant to take over as they believe, since it is temporary basis, associations have to shell out the money for its operations and maintenance, which will come to around Rs 20,000 per month.

President of market welfare associations, Sector 9, Sanjay Singh said, “We are facing lot of problemS from past one week due to locked toilet in our market. We will meet the MC authorities on Monday and urge them to open it.”

As per the Punjab Municipal Corporation Act, 1976 (as applicable in Chandigarh), clause 285 states that MC should keep the toilets running and in a good condition. The MC, on May, 11 locked these toilets across the city markets after the HC directed the agency, which was maintaining them, to hand them over to the MC.

Though the MC chief engineer submitted an affidavit in the HC recently stating that they are capable of running public toilets, nothing has been done.