Sambalpur: SMC Fails to Maintain Bio-Toilets; Ignoring Public Convenience
Sambalpur: Sambalpur is facing a bad situation regarding the maintenance of public bio-toilets installed by the Sambalpur Metropolitan Corporation (SMC). Despite being constructed with public funds to provide convenience to the citizens, most of these bio-toilets have become unusable due to sheer negligence and lack of upkeep.
The root of the problem is the lack of public representatives in the SMC, as no elections have been held since its formation. As a result, the corporation is led by officials who appear to be disconnected from the needs and concerns of the people they are supposed to serve.
Complaints from people about the terrible status of public toilets are falling on deaf ears, as authorities appear to be more concerned with carrying out their duties according to their bosses’ whims and fancies than with the well-being of the city’s population.
This disregard for fundamental municipal services is obvious in the poor state of bio-toilets placed in prominent sites such as beside the Vir Surendra Sai statue on Jail Chowk and the government bus stop. These facilities, which were supposed to provide public relief, are now simple eyesores, with broken fixtures, no water supply, and poor sanitation conditions.
The situation has deteriorated to the point where some people are using these neglected bio-toilets as open urinals, while others avoid them entirely due to their disgusting condition. The lack of sufficient public bathroom facilities not only causes inconvenience but also generates major hygienic issues among city residents.
While plenty of funds were invested for the construction of these bio-toilets, the SMC’s inability to allocate resources for their maintenance has left them effectively unusable. This gross mismanagement of public amenities has left the citizens of Sambalpur desperately searching for alternative options to answer nature’s call, a basic human necessity that should not be compromised in a modern urban landscape.
