THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: People are becoming increasingly hesitant to use the poorly-maintained public comfort stations in the capital city due to fear of contracting Covid-19. With complaints mounting, the corporation has constituted two teams for disinfecting public toilets multiple times everyday. There are around 30 public toilets under the corporation. The civic body has also decided to procure cleaning equipment for the purpose.
Mayor K Sreekumar said making public comfort stations clean and safe will be the top priority. “Hundreds visit the capital city everyday and the floating population is entitled to clean and hygienic comfort stations. We have decided to constitute two special teams to clean up the public toilets,” he said. The teams will be given dedicated vehicles and the disinfection will be held as per WHO guidelines, he added.
“This project was proposed as part of the 100-day cleaning programme of the civic body. Now, however, the project has gained more relevance because of the pandemic. Each team will comprise four members,” said an official with the health wing. We are awaiting approval and `2 lakh will be sanctioned for launching the project, said the official. The project cost could go up to `10 lakh, added the official.
The civic body is also planning to make it a paid service. “There are many educational institutions, private and public establishments that may require disinfection of their toilets and other public spaces. For a fee, the special teams will be deployed to the respective establishment to disinfect the space,” said the official. Ever since the pandemic broke out, the civic body has been carrying out cleaning drives at public places on a daily basis.