The Alarming & Often Unsanitary State Of Public Toilets In Delhi

When it comes to civic sense, we Indians can be worse than some of the sub-Saharan nations of Africa. As far as public toilets are concerned, our civic administration considers them as either a luxury, or of no concern. Read on!

Open Air Toilets

Locals believe that the enclosed space of a toilet or washroom equals enslavement, and open air defecating when nature calls is the ultimatum expression of freedom. More than half the population defecates under the blue sky, in open fields, along railway tracks, behind bushes or literally wherever they can squat and find relief. 

If you’re travelling general class or sleeper class on the Indian railways on your way to Delhi, the city announces itself by the stink that greets your nose as the train pulls into the Old Delhi Station. All along the track, men, women and children trudge out of their shanties at the break of dawn and squat parallel to the tracks for several kilometers. 

People looking out the windows turn their noses up in disgust, while the squatters look back with dead pan faces and stony eyes. The collective defecation raises a stink so bad that it can turn a corpse in its grave!

City Toilets

Firstly, you can never spot one when required. So what do most people do? What else but to face a wall and hose down all the dirt and grime, reading obscene graffiti, adding to an already existing cesspool of urine, evidence of the spot’s popularity. If you’re lucky enough to find a public toilet, usually at bus terminals, near railway stations or some marketplace, it takes extraordinary courage and resilience to enter and exit with all senses intact due to the stench. 

You can’t expect women to ease themselves against the wall, so what can they do? Nothing, except to hold out till they make it to a place with a toilet. India spends millions on tourist promotions and infrastructure, but decent clean toilets are at the bottom of the government’s priority list. 

Spitting - Part Of The Culture

Foreigners who come here for the first time or have never heard spit stories, get the shock of their lives when suddenly a native spits out a huge load of blood-like spit. Relax, this is nothing but a betel chewing ritual or a result of the betel nut and tobacco combination called ‘Gutkha’ in the local language. Even otherwise, phlegm spitting, loud clearing of the nose at street corners and openly picking noses and handling foods at the same time is a common sight in Delhi. Unfortunately.

Why They Do It

It’s not out of choice that they defecate or urinate in the open, but because there are not enough toilets to support even half the population, which reflects badly on the administration and country’s polity.

Before you venture out on the streets of Delhi, attend to all your calls of nature or risk getting caught out with no clean toilets in sight!