Wahid Bhat
SRINAGAR: The women folk in summer capital Srinagar city especially in commercial hub Lalchowk facing lack of public convenience and clean, hygienic toilets making it difficult for them to survive a usual day out on streets.
Ishrat, who works in one of the popular malls in the city, told Press Trust of Kashmir that malls also have insufficient washrooms for women. She said those washrooms are not even maintained properly. “The taps are broken. The flush doesn’t work. The toilets are stinking but we have no option but to use it. We can’t obviously defecate in open”, she said.
Another girl, said,” I spend most of day in the field. It becomes so distressful at times when you can’t find a public convenience around when you have spent your day roaming from one place to another. I keep asking people on road if there are any toilets around. Sometimes, I even go to a restaurant and buy tea or other stuff so that I can use the washroom there”, she said.
According to a local tour and travel agent, who ferry tourists in the city, face a huge problem during the travel. “Due to the lack of proper facilities we have to make the tourists wait until we reach a proper hotel, who are already informed,” the agent says.
Another woman while taking to Press Trust of Kashmir said, “Being a kidney patient, I have to drink a lot of water. I have stones in my kidneys so I frequently need a washroom. I feel paranoid when I have to leave home for some work as the city doesn’t have too many clean public toilets”.
A girl student said, despite being a commercial hub, there are hardly any public toilet in the city. A city that boasts of being the paradise on earth, lacks basic amenities like public toilets.
“Whatever few public toilets are available, they are in such a deplorable and unhygienic condition that a person is forced to exudates in open. It is a shame”, she added.
The summer capital has only a few public toilets and most of them are located in Srinagar’s commercial hub Lal Chowk. A public convenience shed that was located close to Abdullah Bridge in Lal Chowk was demolished by the government few years back keeping in view its odd location.
Considering the inconvenience women face, the authorities need to wake up to their distress to resolve the matter. Suffering women said. Adding that, government should look into the matter as soon as possible. (PTK)
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