Few toilets at Howrah, Sealdah

kolkata: sealdah and how-rah, two of the busiest stations in the country with around 5 lakh commuting during the morning and evening peak hours, have only 200 urinals at the 10 toilet complexes. so, only 12,000 passengers can use them in one peak hour. eastern railway authorities, in charge of the stations, however, say the facilities are adequate. the situation at sealdah is worse than in howrah.the former has 15 lakh people arriving or departing in the 704 daily trains. however, there are only four toilets in the entire station with 20 urinals each, 10 for men and an equal number for women. however, there are facilities for the handicapped. station authorities say the numbers are far from skewed but passengers don't agree. "during office hours, there are long queues. how can a terminal station like sealdah provide such meagre facilities?" asks a regular commuter. station authorities say suburban commuters use the toilets more than long-distance ones - long-distance trains have toilets while the emu locals do not. they say they have not received any complaints. while the adequacy of urinals is debatable, commuters are not too dissatisfied with the level of cleanliness. however, commuters don't mind as long as there is no unpleasant odour. the kudos for this feat goes not to er authorities but to the co-operative societies that maintain them. the toilets were leased out to the agency when the railways realised that running trains and not toilets was their business. "nevertheless, we monitor the condition and take action when they are found wanting," assures sushil kumar, senior divisional commercial manager of sealdah. the situation in howrah is better, but only marginally. six toilet complexes, with 20 urinals each, cater to seven lakh each day. despite the better ratio, howrah station authorities acknowledge the number is inadequate. "the number is surely not adequate for tackling the huge number of passengers. but till we do not receive adequate complaints, we can do with what we have," said howrah senior station manager shyamal chakraborty. the worst time to walk into any of the 10-odd toilet complexes is between 9 am and 12 noon and between 4.30 pm and 7.30 pm when 52 emu locals leave howrah and 51 leave sealdah. with each train carrying over 5,000 passengers, that's five lakh passengers during the rush hours. add to these the passengers for mail and express trains. and the porters who spent most part of the day and night at the stations. there is also the large number of authorised and unauthorised hawkers. the list continues, only making the situation worse. you know now why you don't stand a chance to use the facility that the two stations provide.