Bhubaneswar: Ujjwal Nayak’s joy of relieving himself in the comfort and privacy of a modern toilet was short-lived.
The octogenarian resident of Omfed Basti in Niladri Vihar under Ward 14 is back to undertaking “difficult” treks to the Chandaka Forest Range to relieve himself. It gets worse if nature’s calls come in the evenings, for then he has to be also prepared for possible encounters with reptiles and elephants.
Nayak’s woes returned after the water pump that served the toilet complex malfunctioned, virtually forcing its closure barely a month after it had opened. The complex is one of several that were thrown open January 18 by the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation in the ward as part of the Centre’s dream of an open defecation-free India by October 2019.
“So far the authorities have not shown any interest in fixing the pump and the Rs 49 lakh toilet complex is no more in use,” a source said.
“It was comfortable relieving oneself at the toilet complex. But, like every other government initiative, it has also turned into a flop show. At my age, it’s difficult to walk to Chandaka Forest Range to relieve myself. Evenings are no less nightmarish as I have to ease myself in the woods with the fear of reptiles and elephants uppermost in the mind,” Nayak rued. The dilly-dallying by the authorities on repairing the toilet complex has cast a shadow on the effectiveness of the ODF mission, he said.
Bijay Kumar Pradhan, another resident of the area, said the abandoned complex has become a hub for anti-socials over the past three months. “We have proposed to the authorities to build a wall around the complex, but to no avail; desperadoes have stolen expensive sanitary and other fittings from the complex,” Pradhan said.
After sundown, the compound becomes a haven for drug peddlers. School and college students of the slum are slowly but surely falling prey to substance abuse, he pointed out, adding that they have informed the local police, but in vain.
When asked, Ward 14 corporator Debiprasad Mallick feigned helplessness. “Central government’s National Building Construction Corporation had built the toilet complex. Since it is constructed on BMC land, the civic body just inaugurated it. Although it is the responsibility of the CPSU to carry out all the repair works, they have not been paying heed,” Mallick said, adding BMC cannot interfere in the process.
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