Ludhiana railway station: Lack of toilet trouble flushes swachhta dreams

The troubles impacts more than just daily travellers, with officials deputed at the station also complaining of the lack of toilets on the five other platforms

The city railway station, the biggest in the state, does not have any toilets on any platforms barring the number 1, leaving travellers hassled. Most have to walk back to platform number 1, which has the only lavatories.

Barring No. 1, none of the platforms at the railway station have lavatories, leading to people urinating in the open. Toilets set up for persons with disabilities also remain locked. (Gurpreet Singh/HT)

The troubles impacts more than just daily travellers, with officials deputed at the station also complaining of the lack of toilets on the five other platforms.

One of the two toilets on platform number 1 is adjacent to the ticket counter and the other at the end of the platform on the Jalandhar side.

Raising a stink

While the toilet adjacent to the ticket counter is fairly big, many choose to instead urinate in the open. Visitors at the post office, which stands adjacent, meanwhile complained of smell and unhygienic conditions.

The ticket collectors are responsible for penalising those found urinating in the open, asked about the fines issued over the last couple of months, said there were no definitive figures.

Closed doors

Besides the toilets on platform no 1, which are located almost to the ends of the stretch, there are three toilets for people with disabilities on platforms 2/3, 4/5, and 6/7. The facilities, however, remain locked.

According to the station superintendent Amrik Singh, the toilets were shut due to lack of maintenance and passed the buck to the chief health inspector.

Chief health inspector Harish Kumar, however, said the commodes and other installations at these toilets were broken regularly by miscreants and addicts used them as havens on occasion.

“Unlike other toilets at the station, whose maintenance is outsourced to contractors, these don’t have anyone to look after. It is very hard to ensure that these are not being misused,” Kumar said.

“As these are for people with disabilities, no charges are levied, and in such a case, no contractor is willing to take up maintenance,” he added.

Notably, the station is undergoing redevelopment at present, raising hope of new lavatories being set up. To their dismay, however, Harnam Singh Khosa, who is looking over the project, said, “No, there will not be any toilets on the platforms, but they are connected to platform number 1.”