Gas stations, shopping malls must have well-equipped toilets: Mayor Atiq

All filling stations and shopping malls in the Dhaka North area must have accessible, gender-friendly, and well-maintained public toilets, said Dhaka North Mayor Md Atiqul Islam at an event on Thursday.

These toilets have to be maintained by the establishment owners themselves and the Dhaka North team will visit and take legal action if toilets are found to be unclean, he said while addressing a roundtable titled "South Asian Exchange on Public Sanitation" at the capital's Lakeshore Hotel. 

Mayor Atiqul Islam was the chief guest of the programme — jointly organised by WaterAid, Administrative Staff College of India (ASCI), Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Kimberly-Clark — which underscored various public health concerns. 

"Dhaka North has 140 public toilets and their location is given in an app called 'Shobar Dhaka'. I am asking all citizens to use our public toilets and give your feedback through this app. Because your opinion is important for improvements," the mayor said.

Highlighting the importance of public-private collaboration in tackling health issues, Atiqul said Dhaka North authorities will provide full support for all kinds of public sanitation initiatives by NGOs and the private sector.

Dr Md Khairul Islam, the regional director of South Asia at WaterAid, said, "Regional learning sharing sessions like the South Asian Exchange are a great platform to share the best practices, ideas, and innovations, particularly in terms of operation and maintenance, harnessing Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and other technologies, and keeping the agenda alive for improved use of public toilets by females."

Prof V Srinivas Chary, the director of ASCI, said, "Public toilet provision is a fundamental right of every citizen like voting and is an integral part of the democratisation process. The countries in the South Asia region are miles ahead in terms of public toilet improvements than countries in Europe and America."

Hasin Jahan, the country director of WaterAid Bangladesh, said, "WaterAid Bangladesh, in partnership with Dhaka North, has already designed and built several public toilets, which are currently benefiting thousands of common people." 

"Establishing reliable public sanitation points is a prerequisite for achieving SDG 6 and ensuring access to safe water and sanitation for all. We believe our innovations will be embraced and scaled up by the government. We will continue working with Dhaka North and other city corporations and municipalities in the country to ensure clean, green, accessible and gender-friendly public sanitation systems," Hasin Jahan added.

Delegates and stakeholders shared their experiences and insights regarding public sanitation awareness and requirements for improvement during the exchange, while an immersive exhibition also sheds light on innovative models that can help address some of the long-persisting public health concerns.

Bangladesh, Nepal, India, and Pakistan are long known to constantly tackle critical health, hygiene, and sanitation challenges. 

Although substantial progress has been made regarding these difficulties by respective governments, Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), Non-Profit Organisations (NGOs), different private sector entities, and international aid agencies, limited space, and inadequate maintenance, amid rapid urbanisation continue to cause issues on the capacity of systems, exacerbating public sanitation facilities.

Focusing on this issue, the South Asian Exchange on Public Sanitation witnessed a collaboration between WaterAid South Asia Regional Office and the Administrative Staff College of India (ASCI) for inter-country visits to public toilets in Bangladesh, Nepal and India, that shall enable knowledge sharing and understanding of management modality among the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) sector representatives from the three countries.