Civic body report shows sorry plight of women toilets in city

The municipal corporations of Delhi on Saturday filed a status report before the high court on the condition of public toilets in the Capital, Harish V Nair reports.

The municipal corporations of Delhi on Saturday filed a status report before the high court on the condition of public toilets in the Capital.

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According to the report, out of 1,147 urinals in 374 toilet blocks under the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC), there are only 67 allotted for women.

The situation is equally bad in areas under North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) where out of 2,859 urinals in 1,023 toilet blocks, only 207 are allotted for women.

Shockingly, the report says there are only two urinals for women in the entire Karol Bagh zone which comes under the north corporation.

The report is silent regarding the number of toilets for women in areas under the East Delhi Municipal Corporation. "All three corporations plan to increase the number of toilets for women. A survey has been undertaken to select new sites," says the affidavit.

In December 2007, HT had published a series of articles highlighting the inconvenience that women on the move face when it comes to answering nature's call.

The report comes in response to a PIL filed by lawyer and social activist Ashok Agarwal. "How can there be a gender bias in providing public toilets? Women are being put to severe inconvenience. Even the existing women toilets are not being maintained properly by the civic authorities," he told the court on March 3.

The court had then asked the MCD, NDMC and Delhi Cantonment board to file the report within three weeks. The court will take up the issue on May 1.