Ahmedabad: Nine Fined For Public Urination; Officials Point Out Lack Of Public Toilets

What do you do when you have an urgent need to attend to nature’s call in the middle of the road? Do you wait to spot a public toilet or do you just relieve yourself in the middle of the road, hiding behind a bush?

Well, if you thought of the second then get ready to shell out Rs 100 next time you do so. The solid waste department of the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) has decided to fine anyone found urinating on the road to put an end to this public nuisance.

The AMC’s solid waste management was on a drive to check overflowing litter bins on October 29, when they saw a man urinating on the road and immediately fined him Rs 100. They said that throughout the day, they fined eight other men.

Director of the solid waste department, Harshad Patel, said, “This is for the first time that the AMC has imposed any fine on those urinating at public places. Though there is a provision for fine, we had never thought of implementing this rule,” reported The Times of India.

A senior AMC official pointed out that there was a need for more pay-and-use public toilets to curb the situation. He also said that the existing ones are either stinky or in unclean condition and hence, people are reluctant to use them.

‘Urinating In Public An Age-Old Tradition’

Rajasthan cabinet minister Shambhu Singh Khetasar in the first week of October was photographed urinating in public. Not that it matters in the larger scheme of things, he did so near a campaign poster for Vasundhara Raje.

This incident brought shame for the Narendra Modi-led BJP government as the government has strived and pushed for ‘Swacch Bharat’ since they came to power. What embarrassed them more was when the minister justified his action saying urinating in public was an ‘age-old tradition’.

The Logical Indian take

We Indians are very good at criticising our country for being dirty. Yet, we tend to litter on the roads, spit ‘gutkha’ at public spaces and urinate in public. Not only does this make our country filthy, but it also creates a public nuisance. No one wants to see another person attending nature’s call.

If we have to genuinely achieve the status of Swacch Bharat, then it should be our first-hand responsibility as citizens to ensure that public spaces are clean and are treated with respect. It is also important for the authorities to make more public toilets. The Logical Indian appreciates the Ahmedabad municipal corporation to take an initiative and penalise the offenders.

Also Read: MP: Villagers Claim They Built Toilets Using Their Own Money With No Support, Govt Took Credit