S.A Shofiee, Sylhet :
Most of the public toilets in Sylhet city are lying in deplorable condition these days, much to the suffering of the users. Visitors who come to Sylhet for official or other purposes suffer much due to shortage or dilapidated condition of public toilets. Passers-by are often seen crossing many city areas covering their noses to escape from the foul odor of human wastes lying there. Females, children, aged peoples, patients, pedestrians, lower income group people like rickshaw-pullers, labourers, hawkers and small shopkeepers are facing problems in responding to nature’s call in the absence of sufficient public toilets in the metropolis.
The Sylhet City Corporation (SCC) has only 15 public toilets for the 5 million people of the area under its jurisdiction.
Most of them are found in extremely filthy and unhygienic conditions. As a result, people are forced to defecate in the open, thereby spreading stink in the surrounding areas. ‘Finding no alternative, I used a toilet at Kadamtaly bus stand. The floor of the toilet is full of dirty water and I entered it covering my nose. The toilet is completely unusable as it is unhygienic, said Akbor Hossain, a shopkeeper.
Slum dwellers, beggars and vagabonds defecate on the roadside, making the area unhygienic, he added.
