Loo Café makes for a healthy alternate to the stinking public toilets in Hyderabad
Most of the public toilets in the city are in a pathetic state and some of them have been closed for several months now. Although there are around 2,200 public toilets in GHMC jurisdiction, several are found wanting when it comes to maintenance.
Broken doors, weak structures and units not in use for years and unhygienic conditions define these deplorable public toilets.
Interactions with GHMC officials revealed that as those operating public toilets are not dependent on the user charges paid by the people who use them, they don’t maintain it well. Their major source of revenue comes from advertisers who use the public toilet walls.
A deeper study revealed that women never use public toilets due to bad maintenance. Incidentally, the ‘She’ toilets set up at many places are also not operational. Not many are aware of the mobile toilets parked near tourist spots as there are no signboards.
Public toilets at Jubilee Hills checkpost, Kalyannagar (near SR Nagar), Yousufguda, Madhapur and Koti are among the worst in the city.
Only LooCafé (free washroom) and Urban Loo (paid service) are maintaining their toilets well. LooCafé does not charge users as it depends on the revenue generated from the cafeteria attached to it. Moreover, they don't lease out space for advertisements.