Namma Toilets project still a distant dream

The success of the Namma toilet project, taken up by the Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) on a pilot basis in September last year, was questioned by several corporators at a VMC council meeting held a few days ago. They expressed doubts over its success as the pilot project itself was way behind schedule. The VMC authorities had proposed to build Namma toilets in the city’s 59 divisions to keep a check on open defecation.

The delay in the completion of the project has resulted in the escalation of its cost. The civic body took up the project for the convenience of those visiting the busy commercial area on Mahatma Gandhi Road at an estimated cost of Rs 15 lakh. The project work was entrusted to a Chennai-based contractor and it was envisaged to construct three toilets for women, two for men and one for the disabled as part of the project.

The deadline for the completion of the project was set as December 2014. Even two months after the deadline, there are no signs of its completion in the near future as the project cost has escalated and needs another Rs 4.5 lakh. VMC executive engineer D Sriramachandra Murthy attributed the delay in completion of the pilot project to the lack of proper planning and co-ordination among the concerned departments.

“Even though the construction of the toilets was completed one month ago, they were not operational due to the lack of an underground drainage connection. An underground drainage pipeline needs to be laid to connect the toilets to the main pipeline on MG Road. The VMC officials are exploring the possibilities of modifying the actual plan slightly to make the toilets operational at the earliest,” Murthy said.

By:Sistla Dakshina Murthy