Nepal in bid to solve scarcity of public toilets
A 24-year-old Sandhya Sharma had mixed feelings every time while visiting Patan Durbar Square, a UNESCO World Heritage Site situated at the center of the city of Lalitpur in Kathmandu Valley.
Sharma, a science major, likes the beauty of the Newar architectures on the square so much that she haunts there once she gets leisure time. Hanging around the square was enjoyable, but when nature called, the local girl didn't know where to go.
There was not a single public toilet in this popular tourist destination until a half year ago. Lalitpur Metropolitan City, historically known as Patan, home to thousands of citizens, has only 12 public lavatories, among which only one is properly managed now, according to Aerosan Sustainable Sanitation, a social enterprise company that has been constructing health facilities for the public from last year.
Recalling the bitter experience, Sharma said, "I did not drink water before going for an outing in fear of going to toilet."
She said many local girls like her facing the same problem in Kathmandu Valley, which boasts seven monuments designated as UNESCO World Heritage Sites including Patan Durbar Square.
"Our survey done in 2019 finds that there are only 58 public toilets in Kathmandu Valley and most of them fail to remain tidy and hygienic," said Prakash Amatya, CEO of Aerosan Sustainable Sanitation. His company has built the sole well functional public toilet in Lalitpur around six months ago and it's inaugurated with fanfare by the city authority on November 19, the World Toilet Day. "Since it is in the square area, I guess I am one of the first users of this new restroom. I like it very much!" Sharma shared her excitement with Xinhua this week.
As a traveler, she has left her footprints in many parts of the Himalayan nation and rarely found public toilets in good condition. In dark contrast to those often-squalid toilets where she can't breathe properly, the brand new one is equipped with enough water, soap, and hand dryer.
Suma Nepali, in-charge of the toilet said proudly, "There is enough space, we even provide a sanitary pad for woman. This practice has been much fruitful in times of emergency."
To ease the acute shortage of public toilets, Lalitpur Metropolitan City this year has bought three mobile toilets from India which cost around 32,000 U.S. dollars.
"If there was no COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown, we would have installed them in densely-populated areas," said Chiribabu Maharjan, Mayor of Lalitpur Metropolitan City.
Furthermore, according to him, the local government is also planning to work together with the private sector to construct more toilets to address the woes.
(The co-author of this article is Nitu Ghale. It was released by Xinhua on November 19, 2020.)
