Something to aim for: Ordinary folks put up low-cost urinals in Delhi

What is your first reaction when you see a man peeing in public in your city? Do you wrinkle your nose and walk away? Or do you go ask him why he chose that particular spot to relieve himself? Ashwani Aggarwal, 25, a fine arts graduate from the College of Art in Delhi, went for the second option.“The idea was to get a hold on why people choose a spot," says Aggarwal, who used the research to start basicshit.org, an initiative that has put up urinals in popular pee spots.
“Some said they don't have time to go to a toilet or that everyone does it. Many men even shouted at me saying, 'Don't interrupt our 'personal moment'," says Aggarwal. Whatever the reason for going al fresco, Aggarwal decided it's just got to go. Basicshit, which began last year following an online campaign that raised around Rs 35,000, set up makeshift urinals near Dhaula Kuan and AIIMS in Delhi. “The idea was to create low-cost basic urinals that are easy to maintain, repair and replace. The responsibility is on all of us, and not just the government."
The three-member team - which includes Karan Singh, a musician and Himanshu Saini, a photographer - run the operation from a studio in Hauz Khas. They designed a prototype of a low-cost urinal, which filters urine before it flows to the local sewers. These urinals are cut out from water cans and attached with a rubber tubing to drain the urine, but not before it passes through a bed of charcoal (active carbon), limestone, sawdust, wood shavings etc. This reduces the acidity and harmful chemicals in the urine and the by-product obtained can be used to water plants in the nearby area.
These urinals have been placed in the same nooks that were being used frequently by people to relieve themselves. “We got a good response from the local vendors and hawkers around the site at Dhaula Kuan and AIIMS. Previously, they had to cover their noses and jump over pools of urine that collected on the concrete pavements. In fact, for the AIIMS urinal, the neighbouring chemists and shopkeepers donated generously when they knew what we were doing," says Karan Singh, 26, a member of Basicshit.
“Since we put up temporary structures, don't ask money or cause a hindrance, there has been no problem in getting permissions from the NDMC or PWD," says ghts that “dirty" public Singh who highlights that “dirty“ public spaces in central and north Delhi would be the next areas of focus for the team.
Aggarwal who freelances as a wall-painting and installation artist, has hired students to maintain these urinals, but due to lack of funds, is yet to get full-time caretakers. After trials in Delhi, Goa and Arunachal Pradesh (where they set up temporary toilets for music festivals), he hopes to get more people involved. “Basicshit won at Asian Development Bank's Youth initiative meet in South Korea, and got seed funding of Rs 2 lakh for our project. We are now looking at making our urinals more sustainable, using low-cost material." But it won't stop at that - next target spitting on the street.