Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): The public toilets near markets and public places may turn into a spot for spread of corona. There are 250 toilets in Bhopal, including community toilets and public toilets. None of the toilets is sanitised and only normal floor cleaning is done by the civic body.
The visitors to these toilets maintain social distancing in the markets or other public places, but they are helpless within the confines of these urinals. On the other hand, the toilets are not sanitised with disinfectants. The doors, too, are not sanitised and visitors frequently open the doors themselves.
The staff deployed by Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC) for maintaining these toilets remain at their posts inside the buildings and they, too, are at risk of getting infected.
BMC officials admit that the toilets are not sanitised and are only cleaned traditionally. The BMC staff also admits that the visitors do not listen to them when they ask them to use alternate urinals. Experts feel that, if these toilets are not sanitised, there is a chance of the coronavirus spreading.
What the experts say
* Dr Santosh Shukl, director, National Health Mission (NHM), says that the chance of spread of the virus in these toilets is more than in any open space. These toilets need to be sanitised, besides being cleaned regularly
* MP Singh, additional commissioner at BMC, says the toilets are cleaned, but not thoroughly sanitised. He addes that all the 250 toilets are open to the public, but they have not heard of virus spreading due to these toilets
