Keonjhar: The government spends crores of rupees for building toilets under the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan to maintain sanitation and keep the environment clean, but community toilets in various wards of Keonjhar municipality have remained unused.
While thousands of people resort to open defecation, the civic authorities have not made the toilets operational due to non-supply of water.
On the other hand, open defecation has been contributing to pollution and spreading diseases.
Denizens observed that lakhs of rupees spent on these community toilets will go down the drains when the facilities remain in disuse.
Two such toilets were built in Badadore mouza. They were left abandoned with some parts broken.
“There is no water supply to the toilets. How people will use them without water,” locals fumed.
For lack of awareness, people have to relieve themselves on river banks, near creeks and ponds.
Another toilet at Madhapur was found locked. Its septic tank has not been built as yet.
One can realise how Swachh Bharat Abhiyan is being implemented in this municipality, conscious citizens lamented.
Social activists working on sanitation said toilets should be completed with necessary systems. There is also need for the civic body and other stakeholders to lay emphasis on public awareness on sanitation, they added.