Bhubaneswar: In a bid to encourage people to use community and public toilets to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus, the state government has waived the user fee being collected for using the public toilets.
The Housing and Urban Development secretary, G Mathivathanan, has asked the Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) and Sulabh International not to collect user fee for the usage of community and public toilets in urban areas till August end.
In his letter, Mathivathanan said the effort will not only check open defecation but also ensure better sanitation and hygiene.
“Covid-19 has hit hard the lives and livelihood of the daily wage earners and street vendors in the state. To ameliorate the condition, the government has launched Urban Wage Employment Initiative (UWEI) in the state under which various development activities in the ULBs have been taken up,” he said.
The Sulabh International, which is managing the public toilets, is charging Rs 2 to Rs 10 per person for use of toilet and bathing facility in the complexes.
It is to mention here that 11,227 seated community and public toilets have been constructed in urban areas of Odisha with the facilities of toilet, bathing etc and user-friendly features.
