15 hours Ago By Prasad Kulkarni
1 2 3 Pune: Citizens on Wednesday expressed shock and dismay over Pune Municipal Corporation 's proposal to build five ‘VIP toilets' at Rs 50 lakh each, saying public funds worth Rs 2.5 crore would be ‘flushed away' on the lavish project, especially when the civic body was not maintaining the existing loos.According to the proposal, the civic administration plans to build luxurious and airconditioned public toilets at Katraj Chowk on Pune-Satara Road, Shewalwadi bus depot on Pune-Solapur Road, Balewadi bus depot on Pune-Mumbai Road, Wagholi on Pune-Ahilyanagar Road and Pune railway station.
These loos will feature wi-fi, cellphone and laptop charging points, showers and changing rooms, targeting women and travellers, the proposal stated.Bavdhan resident Krunal Gharre questioned the need for luxury toilets, calling the expenditure wasteful. "The public has already spent on civic facilities, which often go to waste because of poor maintenance.
Instead of splurging on new projects, authorities should ensure proper maintenance of the existing loos. With proper planning and utilisation of administrative powers, maintaining cleanliness isn't expensive," he said.Rucha Joshi of Satara Road said women struggled to find a properly maintained washrooms at public places.
"The city lacks good quality loos for women. The toilets in gardens, auditoriums and other public facilities are in a shambles. Many of them are so dirty, we can't even enter them.
PMC should utilise public funds to maintain the existing toilets than building airconditioned loos equipped with wi-fi and charging points. Who exactly are we targetting here?" she asked.AAP leader Mukund Kirdat said the civic administration was wasting public funds on the project.
"The citizens are not able to use the existing toilets due to poor maintenance, and the administration is planning to spend Rs 2.5 crore on the so-called high-tech facilities. This project should be scrapped," he said.
Members of Aamhi Punekar, a citizens' group that donates makeshift public toilets, emphasised that trained personnel were essential for maintaining public loos properly, ensuring public funds do not go down the toilet. "The construction of public toilets is easy, but maintaining them needs special attention. The administration must seek help from NGOs and groups working in public sanitation for better management of public loos," Hemant Jadhav, a member of the group, said.
PMC officials said 20 modern toilets were built in 2018 at a cost of Rs 2 crore, using Member of Parliament (MP) funds, "They are, however, non-functional now. After the two-year contract ended, the toilets fell into disrepair, with steel doors stolen and sensors damaged, making them unusable," the official said.A group of citizens from Bavdhan later expressed interest in maintaining one of the modern toilets.
"The group spent around Rs 800 per month on the upkeep. The facility was operated for around a year, after which it was supposed to be taken over by PMC. But after the citizens' group stopped operating it, the facility lies abandoned," a member of the forum said.
According to the PMC officials, tenders have been issued for the construction of the ‘VIP toilets', actual construction for which would begin after the bidding process. "PMC has undertaken this project to provide good quality public toilets. The tendering and other processes will be completed in six months," Sandip Kadam, head of PMC's solid waste management department, said.
"The administration is taking efforts for maximum use of existing facilities. If they are not being used, PMC will shift them to locations with high footfall. Plans like public-private partnerships are being explored for better utilisation of these facilities," he added.
The civic administration has also appealed to citizens' groups and NGOs to help make this project a success. Pune: Citizens on Wednesday expressed shock and dismay over Pune Municipal Corporation's proposal to build five ‘VIP toilets' at Rs 50 lakh each, saying public funds worth Rs 2.5 crore would be ‘flushed away' on the lavish project, especially when the civic body was not maintaining the existing loos.
According to the proposal, the civic administration plans to build luxurious and airconditioned public toilets at Katraj Chowk on Pune-Satara Road, Shewalwadi bus depot on Pune-Solapur Road, Balewadi bus depot on Pune-Mumbai Road, Wagholi on Pune-Ahilyanagar Road and Pune railway station. These loos will feature wi-fi, cellphone and laptop charging points, showers and changing rooms, targeting women and travellers, the proposal stated.Bavdhan resident Krunal Gharre questioned the need for luxury toilets, calling the expenditure wasteful.
"The public has already spent on civic facilities, which often go to waste because of poor maintenance. Instead of splurging on new projects, authorities should ensure proper maintenance of the existing loos. With proper planning and utilisation of administrative powers, maintaining cleanliness isn't expensive," he said.
Rucha Joshi of Satara Road said women struggled to find a properly maintained washrooms at public places. "The city lacks good quality loos for women. The toilets in gardens, auditoriums and other public facilities are in a shambles.
Many of them are so dirty, we can't even enter them. PMC should utilise public funds to maintain the existing toilets than building airconditioned loos equipped with wi-fi and charging points. Who exactly are we targetting here?" she asked.
AAP leader Mukund Kirdat said the civic administration was wasting public funds on the project. "The citizens are not able to use the existing toilets due to poor maintenance, and the administration is planning to spend Rs 2.5 crore on the so-called high-tech facilities.
This project should be scrapped," he said.Members of Aamhi Punekar, a citizens' group that donates makeshift public toilets, emphasised that trained personnel were essential for maintaining public loos properly, ensuring public funds do not go down the toilet. "The construction of public toilets is easy, but maintaining them needs special attention.
The administration must seek help from NGOs and groups working in public sanitation for better management of public loos," Hemant Jadhav, a member of the group, said.PMC officials said 20 modern toilets were built in 2018 at a cost of Rs 2 crore, using Member of Parliament (MP) funds, "They are, however, non-functional now. After the two-year contract ended, the toilets fell into disrepair, with steel doors stolen and sensors damaged, making them unusable," the official said.
A group of citizens from Bavdhan later expressed interest in maintaining one of the modern toilets. "The group spent around Rs 800 per month on the upkeep. The facility was operated for around a year, after which it was supposed to be taken over by PMC.
But after the citizens' group stopped operating it, the facility lies abandoned," a member of the forum said.According to the PMC officials, tenders have been issued for the construction of the ‘VIP toilets', actual construction for which would begin after the bidding process. "PMC has undertaken this project to provide good quality public toilets.
The tendering and other processes will be completed in six months," Sandip Kadam, head of PMC's solid waste management department, said."The administration is taking efforts for maximum use of existing facilities. If they are not being used, PMC will shift them to locations with high footfall.
Plans like public-private partnerships are being explored for better utilisation of these facilities," he added. The civic administration has also appealed to citizens' groups and NGOs to help make this project a success..
