The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has put up long horizontal mirrors in five public places across the city to deter the public from urinating in the streets. This initiative was executed in places where higher incidence of public urination is reported. After trying out several techniques such as painting the walls with pictures of deities and writing warnings, the mirrors were put up.

These mirrors were fixed in areas like Church Street, Jyoti Nivas College in Koramangala, KR Market, Indiranagar, and Indian Express circle, where the footfall is high. BBMP officials say that the idea behind this move is that it creates a ‘mirror effect’ – like holding a mirror up to the miscreants who urinate in public.

“We want people to see public urination as a taboo, that is the main goal for this initiative. We are also in the process of building more toilets across the city, and necessary plans have been proposed to make urinals free for the people,” said Randeep, BBMP Special Commissioner, Solid Waste Management.

These mirrors (8ft x 4ft) made using an unbreakable material has a QR code, scanning which, one can get the location of the nearest public toilet. Messages like, “Don’t spit in public”, “Say no to single use plastic”, “Stop littering” and “Avoid Public Urination” were written across the mirrors, to invoke a sense of responsibility and to create awareness among the passers-by.

“Measures to installing QR Codes for locals and tourists to identify the closest public toilets have also been proposed,” Randeep added.

In order to achieve and maintain the ‘Open Defecation Free’ tag for the city, the civic body plans to construct around 250 toilets, in a prefabricated structure. Treated water will also be provided by Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) for the toilets.