Loo and behold! Community toilet turned into living space in Kanpur

At a time when there is renewed emphasis on making the country open defecation free (ODF), the caretaker of a community toilet constructed in a 2000 sq feet area at a cost of Rs 18 lakh in a slum at Sanjay Nagar in Kanpur converted the government facility into a house of his own.

At a time when there is renewed emphasis on making the country open defecation free (ODF), the caretaker of a community toilet constructed in a 2000 sq feet area at a cost of Rs 18 lakh in a slum at Sanjay Nagar in Kanpur converted the government facility into a house of his own, forcing some 4000 people to go out in the open to attend nature’s call.

The toilet was constructed in 2012 and was lying locked until the caretaker Chedi Lal, after converting it into a luxury house, moved in with his family in 2013.

For six years this ‘transformation’ remained undetected and would have continued to be so if municipal commissioner Avinash Singh along with members of quick response team (QRT) had not raided the slum some four days back to stop people from going to attend nature’s call in the open. Some of them were even fined following which they revealed the facts.

This led the municipal commissioner and QRT members to the place itself. As the caretaker opened the door, Singh and his team members were stunned to see what lay inside. The toilet area was equipped with a washing machine, refrigerator and desert cooler and the bathroom converted into a modern kitchen. The remaining area was used as a living room.

Taking a serious view, the commissioner, who got the household goods removed and opened it for common people, also instituted an inquiry immediately.

Singh, who tried to contact the concerned officers regarding the matter but failed to get any response, said, “This is shameful. An inquiry is going on and once the report is submitted the concerned officials will be penalized.”