Bengaluru: Metro's fine, but where's loo?

Bengaluru: The east-west metro corridor may have clicked with commuters who are flocking to it in large numbers, but there still seem to be a few glitches that need to be ironed out quickly.  When it was first rolled out, after reminders by various groups, namma metro promised to provide basic facilities like toilets and drinking water.

Although the toilets have finally made an appearance, it’s a tough task to locate them. The absence of any sign boards indicating their presence is leading to confusion among travellers. It’s only with the help of security guards that hapless commuters can figure out where the toilets are.

At most of the metro stations, the toilets for the metro staff are being made available for use by the commuters. No specific arrangements have been made for separate restrooms for passengers and those visiting the stations. Since the toilets have not been constructed from the commuter’s perspective, their location is not easy to find and cleanliness needs to be given higher priority. If you are at Byappanahalli and you are looking for a toilet, it will take you at least ten minutes to find one. You’ll have to walk down  platform number two, climb some stairs where the training of metro staff is going on and then pass through a long corridor to reach the toilets.

Radhika A, a commuter at Byappanahalli metro station, complained, “The toilet is tucked away in a corner of a platform. It is not even on the concourse level, nor there is any board to let you know where the  toilets are.”

Almost two years ago, Deccan Chronicle pointed out the problems faced by women commuters at metro stations due to lack of basic facilities like toilets and water. Last year even the central government woke up to the issue and ordered all the metro agencies to include toilets as part of their design plan and cost. An Urban Development order clearly states that all newly-proposed metro stations should be designed and constructed with toilets in the paid area. A BMRCL official said, “We have toilets at all the metro stations on the concourse level of the paid areas. Moreover, we have included the construction of the toilets in phase 2 and 3 as part of the design as well.”

The campaign to construct toilets at all the metro stations gained momentum when Deccan Chronicle reported how a woman advocate, Sudha K was humiliated by metro staff after she inquired about where the toilets were at Peenya metro station. After being rebuffed, she brought the issue to the notice of the women’s commissioner and the human rights commission.

Insufficient seating
Unlike the Delhi metro, most of the platforms in namma metro do not have benches for the elderly and physically challenged.

No escalators
At many stations like City Market, Vidhana Soudha and M Visvesvaraya, there are civil structures laid out for escalators, but the escalators are yet to be installed. This is causing much inconvenience to senior citizens.