Barisal City
<i>Only 8 public toilets for half a million people </i>
Barisal City Corporation (BCC) with 45 square kilometer areas and about 5 lakh people has only eight public toilets for dwellers.
Four of those remain closed most of the time while the rest four operate under unhygienic condition.
City dwellers allege that the situation is creating not only health and sanitation hazards for both local and floating people, but also polluting the overall environment in the city.
Jahangir Alam, officer of sanitation and health department of BCC, said at present there is one toilet for over 62,000 people in average distances of 5.6 square kilometers area.
The eight public toilets are situated within 10 square kilometers of the city centers and surroundings at Rupatali and Nathullabad bus terminals, launch-steamer station, Battala, Chowmatha, Natun and Bangla Bazaar and at Aswani Kumar Hall.
Rest 35 square kilometer areas of densely populated Amanatganj, Kawnia, Chawkbazaar, Bagra Road, Sagordi, Ichhakati and court compound have no public toilet.
Mainly females, children, aged people, patients, pedestrians, members of lower income groups like rickshaw-pullers, day-labourers, hawkers, small shopkeepers are facing problem in responding to nature's call due to absence of necessary public toilets.
Finding no way out they are compelled to respond to the call of nature at roadside, walls, drains, canals and ponds causing health hazards and vitiating environment, said Enayet Hossain Chowdhury, former secretary on Barisal Nagorik Parishad.
“We need at least one public toilet at each of the 30 wards of BCC,” said Dr. Mizanur Rahman, member secretary of Nagorik Samaj.
Dr. Matiur Rahman, chief medical officer of BCC, said tender works for construction of a public toilet at Sagordi SBMCH area has been completed and nine other toilets in different areas would be constructed in phases.
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