The Media Advocacy Program “Talk of the Town” has been continuously conducting media debates on public sanitation and public toilets for the last few episodes. In order to continue this debate “Talk of the Town” as a Media Partner of Water Aid Nepal have conducted, produced and broadcast field based media advocacy programs regarding Availability and Accessibility of Public Toilet in Highways including status, obstacles and Way Forward. An on-site visit was started from the Gonggabu Buspark to Naubise. The governments and concerned stakeholders participated, visited, observed and expressed their own opinion regarding the status of public toilets in highways. On the way from Kathmandu towards Pokhara, after crossing Naubise on the Tribhuvan Rajpath, we come to Dhunibesi Municipality’s Khanikhola. On the left side of the road, we can see ‘Akash Bhairav Fuel Centre’. Most of the petrol pump toilets are not very user friendly. One is that there are not enough toilets in the pump. The door to the toilet on the other side is also closed. But the toilet of “Akash Bhairav Fuel Center” in Dhunibesi 6 Khanikhola was different. When the participants of the #TalkToilet tour organized by WaterAid Nepal along with the MHL team went to observe the toilet of the petrol pump, they found it in a freshly cleaned state. A hand washing basin with soap was also found in the toilet.
It was found that three toilets for women and three for men have been constructed in the fuel center. It was found that 6 urinals have been arranged for men and even taller ones for taller people and shorter urinals for shorter ones. Similarly, it was found that a separate toilet has been arranged for disabled and disabled people.
Suraj Upreti, the deputy mayor of Dhunibesi municipality, is the owner of the petrol pump with such facilities. He said that the users of the toilet are not only the customers who come to fill up with petrol, but also the passengers of the cars and the customers of the nearby hotels. “Old and disabled people also travel in vehicles, they look for toilets while filling petrol, but they cannot go to the toilets used by common users, so I have constructed disabled-friendly toilets,” said Deputy Chief Upreti. There was no provision of railing to go to the toilet built for the disabled. He also expressed his commitment to build railings with the #TalkToilet tour team.
Balakrishna Acharya, Mayor of Dhunibesi Municipality, informed that recently there is a wave of building public toilets in hotels and lodges located on the right and left of the road. He said that the municipality has been giving orientations from time to time about the need for public toilets, campaigning to ensure that every hotel on the highway should have proper toilets, and regularly monitoring to maintain the cleanliness of food. He said that even though the municipality tried to invest in the field of public toilets, it was not possible due to legal complications. This highway is a national highway; our jurisdiction does not allow it. The local level has built a toilet on the land of the road. If you build it outside, the land will not be available,” said Acharya. He said that due to this, the funds allocated in previous years for the construction of public toilets could not be spent. The team of #TalkToilet campaign also observed the public toilet in the new bus, the public toilet in Nagadhunga under the local government, the toilet built and operated by a snack shop in Naubise and the toilet built with private investment in Khanikhola.
Bhumika Shrestha, a member of the Blue Diamond Society, who participated in the team, said that although public toilets are marked for women and men, there is no such provision in any toilet for gender minorities. “It was not necessary to build a separate toilet for the gender minorities, but it would be better if we could arrange a sign saying ‘neutral’ in terms of gender.” After observing the public toilets, the participants of the 3Tbapityasbhit campaign said that there is a gradual improvement in the field of public toilets.
The participants also shared their experiences of holding their urine while traveling long distances due to dirty public toilets, drinking less water and wearing kurta surwal instead of pants to urinate outside. “But now there is no need to travel without urinating, and there is no need to walk without even drinking water. After observing the public toilets, I realized that there is a lot left to complete the facilities, but I found that things are improving more than before,” said Bhintuna Shrestha, a participant in the campaign.
Seema Razauria, Chief of Policy and Advocacy of Water Aid Nepal, said that while observing the various types of toilets on the highway, they have seen a lot of changes compared to before. He said that compared to the toilets run by the government, efforts were made to maintain cleanliness in the public toilets run by the private sector. He said that even some small grocery store owners are building public toilets and providing services and it seems that they are trying to build toilets focusing on women. He said, “The construction of public toilets and efforts to meet the minimum standards required for them are very positive.”
Gobind Shrestha, Senior Wash Policy Advisor of Water Aid Nepal said that public toilets must have at least 6 standards. These are:
1. Security and privacy should be maintained.
2. It should be accessible to everyone.
3. Should be clean and tidy (even menstrual hygiene can be maintained).
4. Should be accessible and affordable.
5. Should be available when needed.
6. Regular operation and maintenance should be done.
#TalkToilet tour was attended by senior divisional engineers of the Ministry of Water Supply and Water Supply Department, heads and representatives of local governments, heads and representatives of various organizations working in the water supply and sanitation sector, sanitation engineers, journalists and others. #TalkToilet is a campaign. Who observes the study of public toilets and advocates the minimum facilities that should be there. Sarvagya Shrestha, program head of Water Aid, said that the campaign will advocate for the standards that should be in public toilets and provide suggestions to the government for policy reforms.