At Kalpetta's old bus stand, commuters take autorickshaw to new station for using toilet
Renovation of Kalpetta's Old Bus Stand public toilets is indefinitely delayed following the Suchitwa Mission's rejection of the DPR, leaving commuters facing severe sanitation hardships with a revised December deadline.
Renovation of Kalpetta's Old Bus Stand public toilets is indefinitely delayed following the Suchitwa Mission's rejection of the DPR, leaving commuters facing severe sanitation hardships with a revised December deadline.
Renovation of Kalpetta's Old Bus Stand public toilets is indefinitely delayed following the Suchitwa Mission's rejection of the DPR, leaving commuters facing severe sanitation hardships with a revised December deadline.
Kalpetta: Commuters relying on the town's old bus stand face an indefinite wait before they can use the public toilets again. Although the municipality awarded the renovation contract to an Ernakulam-based agency, the project has hit a bureaucratic roadblock. The current stalemate follows the Suchitwa Mission's rejection of the Detailed Project Report (DPR) submitted by the agency. With a revised DPR yet to be submitted, the renovation work remains completely stalled.
Commuters and local shopkeepers have been bearing the brunt of the crisis, as the facility has been shut down for months following the breakdown of its septic tank system. The municipality aims to install a dedicated sewage treatment unit alongside a full structural overhaul of the building. Officials claim that tendering procedures have already been initiated.
The closure has hit women the hardest, leaving them stranded without basic sanitation facilities. Meanwhile, many men have taken to relieving themselves behind the dilapidated building. Local traders complain that the resulting stench has made the area unbearable, driving customers away.
For other travellers, the only alternatives are the public restrooms at the new bus stand or the one opposite the Head Post Office. However, reaching the new bus stand involves paying ₹10 for a bus or ₹30 to ₹40 for an autorickshaw ride, just to use a toilet.
Back in July, municipal authorities assured the public that the issue would be resolved within three months. Yet, November is already here, and nothing has changed on the ground. Officials are now putting forward a revised deadline of December 31.
The root of the problem lies in the local geography: because the toilet complex sits on a rocky outcrop, the septic tank frequently fills up with groundwater and surface runoff. Previously, the accumulated waste was pumped out and transported to the municipality’s Faecal Sludge Treatment Plant (FSTP), located two kilometres away.
However, the complex had to be shut down entirely when the FSTP itself fell into disrepair. Municipal officials maintain that this crisis could have been averted had the FSTP remained functional, adding that steps are now underway to revive the treatment plant.