Rs 8 crore goes down the drain

Rs 8 crore goes down the drain
Nirmala Toilets, Funded By Sudha Murty, In Bad State
Chandrashekar G | TNN

Bangalore: Infosys Foundation chairperson Sudha Murty pitched in with Rs 8 crore from her personal account for the Nirmala Bangalore public toilets across Bangalore. The BBMP built over 100 toilets with this donation. But, she may well be ruing her decision as these toilets are in a terrible condition.
Tiles broken, wash basin platforms with gaping hopes in the middle, basins missing, sanitaryware fittings, including taps and stink, stolen. The clean, sparkling tiles, Indian and western commodes and urinals, steel taps, granite platforms have either been broken or stolen. The cost of the toilet blocks and urinals ranged from Rs 3 lakh to Rs 10 lakh.
‘Cheeeee’ says the girl holding her nose on the display board outside these toilets. But, that’ll be exactly your reaction if you now step into any of these toilets. The idea, mooted to promote cleanliness and discourage people from urinating in public, doesn’t seem to have worked.
The condition of the Siddapura toilet is quite shocking. It was built with an investment of Rs 8 lakh and has been ripped apart by miscreants. It’s no better than a dumping yard with human excreta everywhere, so bad that even passers-by have to endure the stench. The metal gate is missing and the wash basins, taps and commodes damaged beyond repair.
Toilets at other places like Ashoka Pillar, Siddaiah Circle, Ulsoor and Someshwaranagar are in usable condition but lack taps, adequate water and cleanliness.
Attendant M Muniswamy at Ashoka Pillar says: “I invested Rs 5,000 to install gates and wash basins and spend Rs 210 on a tanker of water. One tanker is sufficient for three days. Some create nuisance by urinating beside the toilet despite requesting them not to do so. The collection is a mere Rs 200 to Rs 250 per day. We are paid Rs 1,500 towards maintenance.’’ ‘We’ll look into issue’
Bangalore: Infosys Foundation chairperson Sudha Murty donated Rs 8 crore to construct Nirmala Bangalore public toilets. But most of them are in a bad shape now. Attendants near Siddaiah Circle, Adarsha theatre and Someshwaranagar say collections aren’t enough to maintain toilets.
Of the 162 toilets, 77 have been tendered to private contractors for maintenance, while the remaining are maintained by retired
pourakarmikas.
SUDHASPEAK
A disappointed Sudha Murty said she donated Rs 8 crore from her personal account for this public cause when the Bangalore Agenda Task Force (BATF) was in existence. “It is very saddening to know Nirmala Bangalore toilets are in a pathetic condition. Some projects fail in the absence of a third body like BATF. I have also noticed a pathetic toilet at Siddapura Circle. Now that the BATF is no longer working, I don’t think my writing letters to the authorities in this regard will help,’’ she told STOI.

PATHETIC CONDITION: The badly maintained Nirmala Bangalore toilet at Siddapura near Lalbagh