Berhampur: Berhampur known as silk city with a radious of around 5 kms with a population over six lakhs,besides around 80K floating population everyday.The city having important offices like RDC(SD),IG(SR),2 universities,Medical college and hospital,Railway station,around a dozen of colleges,municipal corporation,besides several important offices.Moreover,the city is also treated to be the commercial nerve centre of South Odisha.However,the city is missing the most sought toilet and urinals.However,in BeMC records over 67 toilets and over 40 urinals exists.But while single digit toilets are available,none of the urinals are usuable.While the offices and institutions have their own facilities,the common public,even at over a dozen bus stops and crowded market places,no urinal is there.Whereever urinals exists either locked or lacking cleaning,what compelled the public to use the drains to urinate.Though the males somehow manages their need by using open place or drains and made the area stinking and polluting the area,females are the worst sufferers.Apart from the city dwellers,the floating population comprising of labourers,mechanics,officer goers,students and petty traders finds it difficult to answer the natures call.The scarcity problem of toilet and urinals in the city will be doubled,as the city is all set to hold trhe biannial Budhi thakurani yatra and the Danda nacha.For the yatra the `holy mast`scheduled to be erected on intervening night of 12/3/2025 and as per the traditon the yatra will start after a fortnight of the erection.During the yatra several streets will have their carts with mythological idols,statue galaries and the yatra venue desibehera street exists at the middle of Bada bazar.As such the bada bazar area remains crowded almost from wee hours every day till late night,but the crowd increases many fold during the yatra.For the huge crowd,the toilets and urinals are the prime concern.During this period the danda nacha held and the the participants called dandua needs water bodies for their rituals.As per BeMC records over 35 ponds exists in the city,but while many has little water,the rest are full of wastes.However,BeMC Mayor Sanghamitra dalai said measures has been initiated on war footing to make the toilets and urinals usable and mobile urinals would be installed whereever necessary.PIX:Defunct urinals at Bada bazar/Jayaprakashnagar and the locked urinal near Annapurna market.
