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December is the follow-up month at TNM where we go back to headlines of the past for a status update. In this series, we strive to bring focus back to promises made by governments, revisit official investigations that should have been completed by now and exhume issues of public interest that lost steam over time.
A Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) bus, painted in green and white colours, halts near a busy junction in the city. A board named Mobile Bio Toilet is displayed prominently on the bus. The initiative was an attempt by the TSRTC to address the lack of toilet facilities for the men and women of the road transport corporation. But in just under three years, the original idea for the buses have been abandoned and they now function as ‘cash bandi’ – buses that collect cash from the conductors and deposit them at the bank. The bus that is meant to be used as a bio-toilet now lacks water facility and only has a seating facility and cash machines resting on the floor. The situation is the same at several other places, where mobile toilets have been allotted. According to the employees, a mobile bio-toilet had been allotted at some junctions in the city, where ‘change-over points’ (a halt where bus conductors submit their cash for the shift) are located.
In December 2019, TSRTC officially launched nine mobile bio-toilets in Hyderabad and promised to extend the number to 32 of such buses. According to information provided by TSRTC, 17 such buses are in use in various depots in the city. These buses are old buses that have run for more than 15 lakh kilometres and were deemed unfit for public transport. Faced with a long pending demand to provide toilet facilities to employees who work long hours, the buses were converted into mobile bio-toilets. The mobile toilets are split into two sections, the rear section of the bus for women and the front section for men. Each section consists of a toilet facility and a relaxing area that accommodates three to four people at once. Each bus also has an overhead water tank for water supply as well.
The TSRTC insists that there are at least 17 mobile bio-toilets located at various change-over points in Hyderabad and are functioning as toilets, but the ground reality seems to be different. According to the employees, most of the buses are parked in depots for the lack of fitness certificate or turned into scrap and left in garages for use of spare parts. Some other buses have been converted into cash collection points.
The depot managers of Hakimpet, Bandlaguda and Mehdipatnam confirmed to TNM that the buses designated as mobile bio-toilets are under repair. Some of them are not in use as they have not been able to renew the fitness certificates. Other depot managers of Hyderabad Central University depot and Ranigunj depot say that the mobile bio-toilets are being used for some other purposes.
(L-R) The inside view of a bio-toilet and ticket machines resting on the floor of a mobile bio-toilet bus which now functions as cash deposit centre.
Employees say that the mobile bio-toilets were used only for five to six months for the designated purpose and slowly they were converted into cash collection points with the water supply eventually being cut off to the buses. A TSRTC driver Ramu* says that maintenance of the bio-toilet buses had become a hectic task for the depots. “Each depot requires two employees to fill water and clean the toilets. Since the buses are old and there is no adequate maintenance, we keep having issues like leaking water supply and rusting. Slowly, everyone stopped using the buses." Another employee who works at the RTC bus parking in a depot admits that two of the mobile bio-toilets allotted to that particular depot were sent to be scrapped.
The casual indifference with which the stoppage of this facility has been treated is probably reflected in the fact that many employees know there are ‘alternatives’ to the bio-toilet. Depot managers feel that their employees do not need toilet facilities as there are 'natural' toilet facilities (referring to public toilets) at some junctions. But it is the women conductors who suffer as a consequence. They are hesitant to use public toilet facilities that are usually meant for the general public for various reasons, ranging from having to pay money to unhygienic spaces to lack of time.
One of the employees, Balu* from the Hakimpet Depot, who works as a controller at Suchitra junction says that there is no mobile bio-toilet at present as a permanent toilet facility for the general public has come up in the bus stop. Despite being employees, they have to pay to use the toilets. "I am a controller and my job involves standing on my feet for more than eight hours a day. I have health issues and as a result I have to use the toilet several times a day. Since it is a pay-per-use toilet, I spend Rs 30-35 per day. We had a mobile bio-toilet earlier, but now it has been removed,” he says.
The change-over point in Suchitra, which used to have a mobile bio-toilet earlier.
Trilochana, a woman conductor from Mehdipatnam depot, leaves her home at 4:15 am and finishes her shift by 1:30 pm. Speaking to TNM, she says, “Even big bus stands like MGBS do not have any specific toilets catering to employees and we have to use the same toilet as the general public. On most days, there is a long queue of women waiting to use these toilets, and we cannot wait in line with others as we do not have so much time and we have to start bus services. In other places, public toilets are built in busy centres. They are not maintained well and are unhygienic, so we do not want to use them.”
Another employee Manasa* who works as a supervisor, describes how difficult it is for women employees to go about their work without access to toilet facilities. As a supervisor, she is familiar with the problems of women conductors who often come to her with their troubles. “Sometimes, women conductors cry, telling me how difficult it is for them not to use the toilet for close to ten hours. Many of them have stopped drinking water and are dealing with health issues because of the same. Menstruating women will need to change their dress sometimes and there are older women who have diabetic issues as well. For them, a decent toilet facility is a necessity,” says the supervisor.
Manasa reveals that there was a mobile toilet assigned to their location, but lately that bus is being used for cash collection and now there is no water supply either. “We usually go to a nearby school by requesting the management to use their toilets. But they do not entertain us much these days as they fear that it might become a 'habit’ and we will encourage other conductors to use the same place. Of course, it is also a problem for them. How can we trouble other people, if our own management is not thinking about us?” asks the supervisor.
The change-over point in Secunderabad, which used to have a mobile bio-toilet earlier.
The change-over point in LB Nagar, which used to have a mobile bio-toilet earlier.
Predictably, Executive Director of TSRTC Vinod Kumar claims that he is unaware of the bio-toilets buses shift to cash collection points. “We will make sure that the mobile bio-toilets are in use. Under our infrastructure renovation, we are also working on increasing toilet facilities for everyone at major bus stands and improving restrooms for employees further. These works are being completed at a rapid pace,” he says. TSRTC has taken up renovation works at various major bus stands in various depots with a budget of over Rs 148 crore. According to him, even the issue of obtaining fitness certificates for the buses is being addressed and will be resolved soon.
Commenting on renovation, Trilochana says, "The existing toilets at the Mehdipatnam were also removed. This has become a problem not only for the women employees but also for the men. If they are renovating, they should provide us with alternate options at least."
(* Names have been changed to protect their identity.)