Capital city scores zero in cleanliness of public toilets

Thiruvananthapuram: The report card of Thiruvananthapuram presented a sorry state of affairs in waste management in Swachh Survekshan survey 2023. The corporation has slipped to rank 321 at the national level in 2023 from 305 in 2022. Thiruvananthapuram scored zero in cleanliness of public toilets and remediation of dumpsites. The score was less than 10% in door-to-door collection of waste and source level segregation.The sole consolation was that Thiruvananthapuram improved its rank from 3 to 2 at the state level.It is for the second consecutive year that the city ranked poorly in cleanliness of public toilets. The rating of the city also dropped under cleanliness of residential areas - from 75% to 40%.In 2023, Smart City Thiruvananthapuram Limited (SCTL), which had earlier completed biomining of legacy waste accumulated at Palayam, invited tenders to undertake biomining exercise and dismantling of existing structure at the aerobic bin site at Palayam market. The works include dumpsite reclamation through bio-mining of legacy waste/un-processed municipal solid waste by excavation of the non-biodegradable waste, using suitable mechanical sieving machine or any other suitable equipment/method. The civic body has earlier identified 37 spots to construct public toilets in the city. The toilets were proposed at major areas in the city like Secretariat, University College compound, Ayurveda College junction, Palayam market, Public market, Museum compound, Kanakakkunnu, PSC office, LIC office, East Fort and other significant places in city wards.Upgradation of existing public toilets in Smart City ABD (area based development) area was also proposed as per Thiruvananthapuram Smart City Proposal under ‘urban basic services’ module. The aim of this project was to upgrade the existing public toilet facilities within the ABD area to provide better sanitation facilities to local citizens as well as the floating population. Renovation of four existing public toilets within the ABD area was completed at corporation campus, Thampanoor, Putharikandam Maithanam and Thampanoor KSRTC station.The project to utilize vacant spots on the premises of government offices for toilets was earlier pitched during the tenure of previous council also. As per figures presented in the assembly, the corporation paints a dismal picture in terms of providing an adequate number of toilets. The civic body does not run a single toilet free of cost. There are nine toilets in the city which are maintained on pay-and-use mode. The design of Swachh Survekshan is based on three key pillars; service level progress (evaluating progress of cities on ODF status, segregated waste collection, processing, disposal of solid waste and sustainable sanitation), citizens’ voice ( assessment of cities based on direct feedback, engagement with citizens) and certifications assessing progress of cities on their performance under ministry’s certification protocols. An independent agency verifies the data and validates the progress of each city .