Presenting a contrasting picture of the state government’s Covid hygiene claims, as many as 180 toilets spread over five circles of the Dhanbad Municipal Corporation are lying non-functional due to various issues like poor maintenance, lack of cleanliness, and lack of water supply.

Worse is the condition of over 67 modular toilets, which are lying either locked or unused ever since their establishment more than two years ago.

Expressing disgust over the situation, Ashok Pal, councillor of Ward Number 20 said the direness of the situation is compelling many roadside shopkeepers to urinate and defecate in the open since the existing community toilet near the Rajendra Sarovar park was removed two years ago due to pond beautification.

Three single unit toilet blocks had been placed instead of the community toilet which always remained closed.

“While a majority of modular toilets are lying locked, others have become non-unusable due to broken taps and commodes, lack of proper electricity etc,” said Pal and added the proper maintenance of these toilets by deputing caretakers to ensure regular cleaning could have solved the problem.

Echoing sentiments, Ankesh Raj, councillor of Ward Number 27 of Dhanbad, said, “Creating infrastructure without proper focus of maintenance has rendered the toilets useless.”

“While almost all modular toilets in our area are lying non functional, we are operating somehow with the community toilets. We have entrusted the cleanliness responsibility of one to a local resident while the other is being managed by a physically challenged person who collects a nominal charge of Rs 5 per person for each use and carries out cleanliness work on his own,” said Raj.

The positioning of of modular toilets, he said, has also been made in such unplanned manner that they have been placed in such area where they inaccessible, in stead of being placed in densely populated areas like marketplaces where the people need them most.

Vijay Sao, a roadside tea shop owner revealed the story of modular toilets lying unusable beside his shop.

“Initially after the toilets were installed, it remained locked for more than a year. After it opened, some anti-social elements including the operator of an adjoining pay and use public toilet broke the tap and commode turning it non-functional. He thought that a free toilet in his vicinity will render his pay-and-use toilet useless and affect his income,” he said.

67 of the 180 toilets in five circles of the DMC area including Dhanbad, Jharia, Sindri, Katras and Chhatand are modular toilets. 68 community toilets and 45 public toilets.

While the public toilets being managed by Sulabh International are in a better condition, the community toilets managed by DMC through its own staff are in not so.

Repeated efforts to contact Dhanbad Municipal Commissioner Satendra Kumar failed to yield.