Bengaluru: Choked Cubbon Park toilets face closure

Bengaluru: With three toilet blocks at Cubbon Park facing closure, visitors and walkers are concerned that with no alternate measures in place, it would inconvenience many, especially the women. It may be recalled that two mobile public toilets at Lalbagh have already shut down.

The Cubbon Park toilet blocks, sponsored by a private company, have already not been functioning for the past 15 days. The sponsors cite apathy by the city’s civic bodies for such a step.

Satish Kumar, managing director of Phoenix Cabins Private Ltd, which runs the toilet blocks, said it took him five years to get clearance from the horticulture department to set up three toilet blocks at Cubbon Park.

“Around 700-800 people use them every day, which leads to quick filling of the pits. Every Monday we send suction vehicles to get the pits cleared and not once had the BBMP got the pits cleared,” he lamented.

Though the horticulture department said that it got a positive response from BBMP and BWSSB, nothing constructive has been done on the ground. Satish further said, “When horticulture department wrote a letter to BWSSB to provide sewer line it gave an estimated budget of Rs 3-5 lakh for one sewer line, which the department says is not budgeted.”

Cubbon Park Walkers Association and visitors have been calling the sponsor company to open the public toilets. “The pay and use toilets in the park are not clean. Moreover, the number of toilets at the park is not adequate. The authorities must resolve the issue at the earliest,” said Vivek Gupta, a visitor at Cubbon Park.

“If the government supports and cooperates unconditionally, many corporate organisations would come forward to sponsor a good number of public toilets around the city and would also ensure its maintenance,” Satish said.