Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): The capital city, with a population of approximately 26 lakh residents, is struggling with a significant shortage of public sanitation facilities. The city only had 218 public toilets, community toilets and urinals combined, falling drastically short of the city's requirements.

According to Bhopal Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) sanitation department, out of the existing facilities, the city has just 13 urinals, 62 community toilets, and 143 public toilets. Residents and travellers alike have pointed out the urgent need for improvement, with municipal authorities estimating a requirement of an additional 150 urinals and 140 public toilets, totaling 290 new facilities.

This figure falls far short of the city’s needs, leaving residents and visitors struggling, particularly in crowded areas.  As per urban sanitation norms, there should be one public toilet for every 5k people. By this calculation, Bhopal requires an additional 290 public toilets and urinals to meet the demand.

Lack of adequate facilities has caused inconvenience, especially in highly congested areas like MP Nagar, New Market, and 10 No Market.  Chairman of BMC Kishan Suryavanshi told Free Press that to address this issue, the state government allocated Rs 23 crore to the BMC around four months ago.

The funds are earmarked for constructing 290 new public toilets in the city. He further said that work on this project has already begun, with tenders issued for construction of deluxe public toilets. He added that due to increasing population density in the city, it is not easy to find locations to build new public toilets, but as per requirements, BMC uses its mobile toilets.

This initiative aims to alleviate sanitation challenges faced by the city. However, delay in meeting sanitation targets highlights the pressing need for swift action to ensure public convenience and maintain urban hygiene standards.