Ranchi: Open urination continues despite the availability of public toilets, raising questions about sanitation enforcement and public awareness in the city. Pedestrians and shopkeepers said the practice creates unhygienic conditions and an unbearable odour, besides affecting the appearance of prominent locations. Many residents, however, said poor maintenance of existing toilets discouraged people from using them.At present, there are 88 modular toilets, 91 urinals, 30 community toilets, 38 public toilets, and 32,427 individual household toilets across the city. The social nuisance is rampant mostly in commercial and transport hubs, including areas around the Ranchi railway station, Albert Ekka Chowk, Kutchery Chowk, leaving stretches of roads and walls reeking of urine.At Kutchery Chowk, one of the city’s busiest intersections on which is located the district collectorate and Ranchi Municipal Corporation (RMC) office, urine flows on to the road from a poorly maintained public toilet.A traffic constable, deployed at the intersection, said, “The RMC office is barely 200 metres away, yet the problem has persisted for the past six months. We have to perform our duty amid an unbearable stench.”While municipal authorities have provisions to penalise littering and other sanitation violations, residents alleged the lack of regular enforcement at several locations allows the practice to continue unchecked.“People often urinate in corners and along walls even when a public toilet is available nearby. The authorities have build the toilets but do not take strict action to ensure basic hygiene. There is little fear among the violators of being stopped or fined,” Shiv Prasad Mishra, a resident of Kokar, said.Ranchi ranked 37th out of 40 cities in the category of urban centres with over 10 lakh population in ‘Swachh Survekshan 2024-25’, recording poor scores against variables such as door-to-door waste collection, source segregation, and maintenance of public toilets.The Urban Development and Housing Department had in August alloted Rs 43.25 crore to the Ranchi Municipal Corporation (RMC) under Swachh Bharat Mission 2.0 for construction of toilets in order to ensure improved, safe, and accessible sanitation facilities for city residents. Under the scheme, approval has been granted for ₹75 lakh for the construction of 250 individual household toilets, ₹15.23 crore for 50 community toilets, ₹20.02 crore for 65 public toilets, ₹6.09 crore for 20 aspirational toilets, and ₹1.15 crore for 362 urinal units.
