Public toilets in Kozhikode district have scored over 90% in the ‘Toilet Speak’ cleanliness audit conducted by the District Suchitwa Mission and the National Service Scheme.
The Toilet Speak is a first-of-its-kind initiative in the State conducted as part of the World Toilet Day celebrations under the Swachh Bharat Mission and ‘Malinya Muktha Navakeralam’ campaign from December 4 to 10. Around 600 NSS volunteers from 15 colleges in the district participated in the survey.
“The students inspected 1,211 toilets across various establishments, including government offices, hotels, schools, bus stands, railway stations, hospitals, banks, shopping malls, and restaurants, which see maximum footfall daily,” said M. Gouthaman, district coordinator of Suchitwa Mission.
The toilets were divided into two categories— public and private sector establishments. The survey covered 134 public and 1,078 private sector establishments. It followed the guidelines from the Central government under the Open Defecation Free (ODF) campaign. Factors assessed to determine toilet quality included water availability, presence of buckets, soap, and handwash, security (ability to properly close doors), lighting, cleanliness, maintenance, staff availability for cleaning, personal hygiene of staff, availability of separate baskets for sanitary waste collection, sign boards, soak pits, and odour control.
The Mission’s report said that toilets in both the public and private sectors were equally good, with over 90% of them equipped with essential factors. More than 80% were clean and well-maintained. “This shows that the days of stinky toilets are gone. We noticed that travellers, pilgrims, auto-rickshaw drivers, and common people were widely using public toilets, including the ‘Take a Break’ facilities,” said Mr. Gouthaman.
However, the report also pointed out the need for more attention to factors such as soak pits, signboards, and facilities for disposing of sanitary waste. “The Mission plans to intervene in these matters in the coming days and make arrangements to clear any shortcomings,” he said.
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