No public toilet in Lucknow specifically earmarked for females
26 Jun, 2014It is a common sight to see the people defecating or urinating in open, sometimes even on a busy road. In response to an application filed under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, the Lucknow Municipal Corporation (LMC), has accepted an acute shortage of public toilets in the city and has informed that Lucknow does not have a separate public toilet for women. The statistics further reveal that Lucknow a public toilet for every 58,844 people.
RTI activist Urvashi Sharma had asked for the number of public toilets within the limits of LMC. Lucknow is the capital of the state of Uttar Pradesh and is also a major tourist destination. With a population of nearly three million, it is one of the major cities of the country with a long and cherished history.
Reports of crime against women, some of which occurred while they went to attend natural calls, have shaken the nation. Most of the cities in the country seem to be woefully ill-equipped to deal with the civic issues arising in their vicinity and the situation is worse in the villages where citizens have to go in open. Some solace is offered by the toilets in the malls, multiplexes or those made by NGO’s like sulabh. Shouldn’t construction of toilets at regular distance be taken up on priority?